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Retired in 2010, In Memoriam
Poultry Businesses Prepare For Bird Flu Impact
http://cbs4denver.com/local/local_story_222124815.html
(AP) DENVER Boston Market Corp. is developing and testing alternative menu items at its Golden headquarters.
Officials at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. are prepared to substitute pictures of burgers for those of chicken sandwiches on the company's menus and signs.
Executives at Red Bird Farms Co. in Englewood have drafted a nine-point plan for communicating the safety of their product.
While the much-talked-about H5N1 avian flu virus has yet to make an appearance on American soil, Colorado restaurants and other companies that rely on poultry sales are preparing for it, and for the impact it could have on their business.
Since 2003, the virus has infected at least 231 people in 10 countries in Asia and the Middle East, killing 133. All have contracted the virus from direct contact with infected birds and not from the food supply.
Experts say the virus cannot survive in poultry that has been cooked to 165 degrees and that infected birds are exterminated before they even make it into the food supply.
Nonetheless, a survey of 1,043 adults released this year by the Harvard School of Public Health found that nearly half the respondents who eat chicken or other poultry said they would stop doing so if an outbreak occurred among U.S. flocks.
A similar crisis hit the U.S. beef industry in 2003, when bovine spongiform encephalopathy was discovered in a cow in Washington. Known as mad cow disease, it eats holes in the brains of cattle. Food contaminated with it can afflict humans with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which is fatal.
Over the ensuing two years, Colorado beef producers lost more than $160 million because the export market was closed. Japan just recently reopened its markets to U.S. beef exports.
Colorado's poultry-dependent businesses aren't focused on export issues. They are more interested in preserving their local business. To combat the bad publicity of an avian flu outbreak, Colorado companies have formed task forces that, for months, have been working to line up everything from backup poultry suppliers to point-of-purchase materials intended to reassure customers the food supply is still safe.
"If -- God forbid -- something did happen, I think every restaurant is going to be in the same situation," said Kim McBee, a spokeswoman for Red Robin. "It doesn't matter if you have one chicken product or 100 percent chicken" on the menu.
The Greenwood Village-based chain is better known for its burgers but also serves a variety of chicken sandwiches.
During their annual convention in May, leaders of the National Restaurant Association acknowledged a strong likelihood that the virus will emerge in U.S. flocks as early as this summer. The trade group has budgeted an additional $100,000 to educate the industry and the general public about the virus.
"If you are already applying the right safety practices and proper hygiene, then things are fine," said Lo Mielke, sales and marketing director for Red Bird Farms.
The Englewood-based company is a further processor of chicken. It prepares and packages chickens that have already been raised and killed by its Missouri-based supplier. The company, which serves both retail and food-service customers, processes 200,000 pounds of chicken each week.
If concerns arise about possible avian flu cases in the U.S., the company plans to reiterate its safety practices to its customers. So far, it doesn't plan to alter its packaging to emphasize safety, company officials said.
Their plan is in line with many Colorado restaurants, who say they're watching the situation closely.
"For now we're very much in a holding and monitoring pattern," said Chris Arnold, a spokesman for Denver-based Chipotle Mexican Grill. "We have an internal committee in place that is monitoring all facets of bird flu and what it could entail."
Many restaurants have started preparing posters and other materials to answer consumer questions should they arise.
"It's on the computer. All we have to do is print," said McBee of Red Robin. Other companies have materials that are even more accessible.
"They're already printed and at the ready," said Kelly Heisler, manager of communication for Boston Market. The company is considering other communications measures, including e-mail blasts, she said.
Heisler declined to describe the alternative menu items the company is testing, citing competitive reasons.
Some national fast-food powerhouses have been even more aggressive in their preparations. Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's Corp. this spring acknowledged that it has prepared a multimedia marketing campaign aimed at minimizing consumer fears.
Kentucky Fried Chicken, a unit of Yum Brands Inc., has started placing quality-assurance labels on its packaging, and El Pollo Loco, which recently opened its first Colorado restaurant, is posting chicken safety notices in its stores and on its Web site.
For restaurants that haven't designed their own communications materials, the National Chicken Council has designed its own posters, brochures and table tents that owners can download, print and use in their restaurants. The National Restaurant Association plans to produce similar materials for members.
The materials have been online for a short time, so it is difficult to gauge how many restaurateurs are using them, said Richard Lobb, director of communications for the National Chicken Council.
Business owners acknowledge they're toeing a thin line between informing customers and causing even more panic.
"I certainly don't want to take it as Y2K again, but you have to be concerned," said Larry Leith, founder and president of Tokyo Joe's. The company serves a variety of meats and fish, and Leith is confident customers will continue visiting even if avian flu is discovered in the U.S.
"We feel like Joe's has systematically high standards," Leith said, adding that he's particularly confident in Tyson, the company's chicken supplier.
Nonetheless, Leith expects at least some temporary impacts if avian flu occurs in U.S. flocks.
"My guess is that seafood sales will increase," he said.
Officials at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. are prepared to substitute pictures of burgers for those of chicken sandwiches on the company's menus and signs.
Executives at Red Bird Farms Co. in Englewood have drafted a nine-point plan for communicating the safety of their product.
While the much-talked-about H5N1 avian flu virus has yet to make an appearance on American soil, Colorado restaurants and other companies that rely on poultry sales are preparing for it, and for the impact it could have on their business.
Since 2003, the virus has infected at least 231 people in 10 countries in Asia and the Middle East, killing 133. All have contracted the virus from direct contact with infected birds and not from the food supply.
Experts say the virus cannot survive in poultry that has been cooked to 165 degrees and that infected birds are exterminated before they even make it into the food supply.
Nonetheless, a survey of 1,043 adults released this year by the Harvard School of Public Health found that nearly half the respondents who eat chicken or other poultry said they would stop doing so if an outbreak occurred among U.S. flocks.
A similar crisis hit the U.S. beef industry in 2003, when bovine spongiform encephalopathy was discovered in a cow in Washington. Known as mad cow disease, it eats holes in the brains of cattle. Food contaminated with it can afflict humans with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which is fatal.
Over the ensuing two years, Colorado beef producers lost more than $160 million because the export market was closed. Japan just recently reopened its markets to U.S. beef exports.
Colorado's poultry-dependent businesses aren't focused on export issues. They are more interested in preserving their local business. To combat the bad publicity of an avian flu outbreak, Colorado companies have formed task forces that, for months, have been working to line up everything from backup poultry suppliers to point-of-purchase materials intended to reassure customers the food supply is still safe.
"If -- God forbid -- something did happen, I think every restaurant is going to be in the same situation," said Kim McBee, a spokeswoman for Red Robin. "It doesn't matter if you have one chicken product or 100 percent chicken" on the menu.
The Greenwood Village-based chain is better known for its burgers but also serves a variety of chicken sandwiches.
During their annual convention in May, leaders of the National Restaurant Association acknowledged a strong likelihood that the virus will emerge in U.S. flocks as early as this summer. The trade group has budgeted an additional $100,000 to educate the industry and the general public about the virus.
"If you are already applying the right safety practices and proper hygiene, then things are fine," said Lo Mielke, sales and marketing director for Red Bird Farms.
The Englewood-based company is a further processor of chicken. It prepares and packages chickens that have already been raised and killed by its Missouri-based supplier. The company, which serves both retail and food-service customers, processes 200,000 pounds of chicken each week.
If concerns arise about possible avian flu cases in the U.S., the company plans to reiterate its safety practices to its customers. So far, it doesn't plan to alter its packaging to emphasize safety, company officials said.
Their plan is in line with many Colorado restaurants, who say they're watching the situation closely.
"For now we're very much in a holding and monitoring pattern," said Chris Arnold, a spokesman for Denver-based Chipotle Mexican Grill. "We have an internal committee in place that is monitoring all facets of bird flu and what it could entail."
Many restaurants have started preparing posters and other materials to answer consumer questions should they arise.
"It's on the computer. All we have to do is print," said McBee of Red Robin. Other companies have materials that are even more accessible.
"They're already printed and at the ready," said Kelly Heisler, manager of communication for Boston Market. The company is considering other communications measures, including e-mail blasts, she said.
Heisler declined to describe the alternative menu items the company is testing, citing competitive reasons.
Some national fast-food powerhouses have been even more aggressive in their preparations. Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's Corp. this spring acknowledged that it has prepared a multimedia marketing campaign aimed at minimizing consumer fears.
Kentucky Fried Chicken, a unit of Yum Brands Inc., has started placing quality-assurance labels on its packaging, and El Pollo Loco, which recently opened its first Colorado restaurant, is posting chicken safety notices in its stores and on its Web site.
For restaurants that haven't designed their own communications materials, the National Chicken Council has designed its own posters, brochures and table tents that owners can download, print and use in their restaurants. The National Restaurant Association plans to produce similar materials for members.
The materials have been online for a short time, so it is difficult to gauge how many restaurateurs are using them, said Richard Lobb, director of communications for the National Chicken Council.
Business owners acknowledge they're toeing a thin line between informing customers and causing even more panic.
"I certainly don't want to take it as Y2K again, but you have to be concerned," said Larry Leith, founder and president of Tokyo Joe's. The company serves a variety of meats and fish, and Leith is confident customers will continue visiting even if avian flu is discovered in the U.S.
"We feel like Joe's has systematically high standards," Leith said, adding that he's particularly confident in Tyson, the company's chicken supplier.
Nonetheless, Leith expects at least some temporary impacts if avian flu occurs in U.S. flocks.
"My guess is that seafood sales will increase," he said.