So for the second time in two years, Maple Leaf Foods of Canada has issued a recall of some of its products because of Listeria concerns. This has prompted a lot of coverage, as the previous outbreak resulted in a lot of illness and death. Thankfully, the company learned from its mistakes, and issued the recall very swiftly, resulting in a bit of reassurance that they know what they’re doing. Good stuff.
Bizarrely, this evening after seeing the coverage on the news, I found myself on my way to Safeway to find myself some smokies. Funny how that works – still, given the recall, and the publicity, I knew what not to shop for. Trouble was, the recall prompted some movement of stuff in the store, I assume in the interest of not having gaping holes in their displays, so I was forced to ask at the deli counter where I could find some smokies.
Safeway did a brilliant thing. The guy at the deli counter showed me to a display where a half dozen “gourmet” brands were sitting on sale, for just a few cents more than the Maple Leaf brands usually are. It seems that whether the grocery store had plans to promote these brands, or just saw an opportunity and grabbed it, I went to the store hoping for standard stuff and, because I went in spite of the recall and fright surrounding hot dogs, I got a better supper – Mitchell’s Gourmet Foods is a small brand that, from its web presense appears to be a subsidiary of Maple Leaf, but their smokies were well worth getting even at full price – which I never would have done if Safeway, or Maple Leaf, or whomever made the call, hadn’t presented me with this chance to look at better stuff for the same number of dollars.
Way to go, guys. That’s how it should be done.