"What I've Heard" and "What I Know to be True": Maintaining Trust and Transparency in a "I need to know first" culture

Are you a member of the food industry, and especially the produce industry, who wants to have the latest scoop about outbreaks and recalls before anyone else? Sure. We all are. Why? Hopefully it’s so we can take action to protect consumers and protect our business. But I fear it’s sometimes driven by ego and the need to be the ‘insider’ that everyone goes to. This summer the rumor mill has done more harm than good. 

Here are a few examples: 

• The Press release that never was: Whispers that Bill Marler was holding a press release for CNN and others at his booth on the IAFP show floor circulated through the hallways. I heard it 3x before running into Bill- who knew nothing about it. The rumor seemed to stem from a common source. Even if it didn’t originate with him, I have no idea why he felt the need to broadcast it.  

• A test result too soon: Let me caveat this by adhering to ‘lesson 4’ below, and acknowledge that one rumor I heard about why FDA announced a positive test finding that was later walked back was because the finding was already circulating on social media. I don’t know if this is true because I must not be on these channels. But if (and I stress if) it’s true then those who leaked info, creating pressure to announce something prematurely, should be reprimanded. 

• An expanded outbreak announced by the press: I’m a strong supporter of the 4^th Estate but I don’t think they should be announcing info that government officials shared on the condition of anonymity. Instead, we should expect communication direct from the government, promptly, with any necessary caveats. Otherwise, it creates tremendous mistrust. Today a colleague said she feels like there has been a “cover up”. I don’t believe this is true, but can see why someone feels this way. 

  
  

In the past week, I’ve been asked to share what I know (about several different situations) numerous times. What I know, and what I have heard, are two different things. I never want to break trust. Yet I always want people to be up to speed with the latest (accurate!) information. 

Here are some lessons to be learned from the situations above, and the way I try to handle information when situations are fluid: 

1. Don’t be a gossip. Check the veracity of information. Go to the source. Don’t just spread the rumor- even if you know it to be true. Instead, urge transparency and expediency via the appropriate channels. Yes sometimes they need a ‘nudge’ but private nudges are usually better received than public ones. 

2. Resist the need to be the first to know. I know that there can be internal pressure from within your company, and obviously if your firm is caught up on something, you want to be aware as quickly as possible. Communicate your expectations to suppliers and customers (e.g., if a regulator contacts either of them about your product, they should alert you ASAP!). Certainly keep abreast of what’s happening in the world of food safety. If you do find yourself blindsided, instead of scolding yourself for passively waiting for information, take it up with the entity causing the blindside. 

3. Own the narrative- Don’t delay in communicating. If you’re the one with info to share, share it. As long as the insatiable probing doesn’t cease, your message is going to get out. It’s going to get out quickly. If it’s not coming directly from you, it may be wrong, incomplete, or without context or qualifiers. It’s hard to “put the toothpaste back in the tube” once this happens (a client used this phrase once. I love it). 

4. Communicate with caveats. Information changes. That’s ok. Follow the basics of risk communication: share what you know, share what you don’t know, share what you’re doing to find out, and when you’ll be in touch with more info. 

   
   

And don’t forget about the shoe being on the other foot. You want to be the first to know the juicy rumors.  But if you were involved in an issue and trying to figure things out, would you want these rumors circulating about you? 

There’s a whole lot about this summer that I hope the collective ‘we’ will circle back on. But at the moment I hope people will resist getting caught up in the communication frenzy that’s contributed to misinformation, mistrust, and inefficient use of time and energy.