A few weeks ago, Nutro announced a voluntary recall of its dry cat food products in the US as well as in ten other countries. The cause: excessive levels of zinc in affected food. Typical of situations requiring a recall, the company issued a press release on their website stating the following:

“While we have received no consumer complaints related to this issue, cat owners should monitor their cat for symptoms, including a reduction in appetite or refusal of food, weight loss, vomiting or diarrhea. Consumers who have purchased product affected by this voluntary recall should return it to their retailer for a full refund or exchange for another NUTRO® dry cat food product. Cat owners who have more questions about the recall should call 1-800-833-5330 between the hours 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM CST.”

Pet owners were outraged. In contrast to what the company was saying, consumers were saying otherwise. ConsumerAffairs, a consumer complaint website, has logged hundreds of complaints over the past two years about the effects of Nutro on both cats and dogs. Comments were emotionally charged with reports of severe illness, unaffordable vet bills, and in some cases the death of a pet.

Daniel of Toronto, ON June 16, 2009:
“My cat has been vomitting for the past 3 days. He's in terrible pain (he has never ever been sick before). I told the vet all I fed him was nutro. Now I see this recall and realize the food I'm feeding him has an expiry of June 2010. IT'S THE NUTRO CAT FOOD MAKING HIM SICK. They wanted to admist my cat to intensive care at 2400 for the first 24 hours and 600 per day thereafter. I could not afford to do that. I paid 500 and now my cat is here at home vomitting and very sick. This is ridiculous. Nutro has to be held responsible. Is anyone aware of any class action lawsuits?"

News of the recall, as well as the Nutro’s response to allegations of test results commissioned by the Pet Food Products Safety Alliance (on a food sample purchase after the recall date), has produced unwelcomed media attention for the company. Conversations on Twitter and other social media outlets have been highly negative and critical of Nutro for being unresponsive, uncaring, and most importantly, untrustworthy. Companies that find themselves in this situation need to be aware of the root psychological concerns of their customers and address those concerns in communication strategies.

On first glance, Nutro may have thought the issue was (mis)communication. This would explain their defensive stance on the test results as well as their recent use of Twitter to engage Nutro naysayers and direct them to the appropriate company help channels:

“ReneeATNutro: @WildlifeProtect Hello! I work for Nutro Products & wanted to help get you correct info about recall. Pls see http://tinyurl.com/pztzm8”

However, Twitter comments and online complaints show that trust is the real issue on their customers’ minds. This is not an issue of how to get a timely refund for pet food or vet bills – it’s an issue of trust in a company to produce a safe product.

“Why should I trust a pet food company more concerned w/ damage control than quality control??”

Companies need comprehensive, real-time information to monitor media conversations about their brand and accurately assess the underlying concerns of their customers, not only during times of crisis, but to prevent such issues from turning into crises. Company actions and messages need to address root psychological factors or the issue will never be resolved.