Most Controversial Companies

Takata Corp
#5 Blue Bell Creameries LP
Sector: Food and Beverage; Headquarters: USA; Peak RRI: 80
NHTSA fined Takata USD 70 million in
November 2015, the largest civil penalty in
NHTSA’s history, for failing to disclose the
defect in its airbags in a timely manner, and
accused Takata of manipulating laboratory
test results and producing selective, inaccurate,
and incomplete test reports. At the
time of writing, auto manufacturers are continuing
to recall vehicles with Takata-manufactured
airbags.
The company had
apparently defied
an NHTSA order
in December 2014
calling for an
expanded nationwide
recall of driver’s side
airbags.
Top related companies:
Takata Corp
1. Honda Motor Co Ltd
2. Toyota Group
3. General Motors Co
4. Nissan Motor Co Ltd
5. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV
5. Ford Motor Corp
Blue Bell Creameries ranks fifth in our MCC
2015 ranking due to a Listeria outbreak that
killed three people in the United States and
affected several others.
The Listeria outbreak was confirmed by the
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on
March 14, 2015 and linked to a contaminated
machine at Blue Bell Creameries’ plant
in Brenham, Kansas, the company’s largest
manufacturing plant. Three people died from
the food poisoning, and a further two people
were affected. Apparently, the victims had
been patients at a Kansas hospital between
January 2014 and January 2015 and had all
consumed ice cream products. The Texas
Department of State Health Services confirmed
that the ice cream had been sourced
from Blue Bell Creameries’ Brenham plant.
Blue Bell immediately recalled the contaminated
ice cream products and the US FDA
warned consumers not to consume several
Blue Bell frozen snacks.
The US Center for Disease Control & Prevention
(CDC) confirmed that Listeria caused
fever, muscle aches, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal
symptoms, and that the bacteria
could pose a high health risk for pregnant
women, newborn babies, older adults, and
people with weakened immune systems.
In April, the CDC warned consumers against
ice cream products manufactured by Blue
Bell’s Broken Arrow plant in Oklahoma, due
Top ESG Issues:
Blue Bell Creameries LP
1. Products (Health and environmental
issues)
2. Violation of national legislation
to concerns about Listeria contamination. As
a result of the warnings, Blue Bell temporarily
closed the plant.
H-E-B Grocery Company, one of the largest
retailers of Blue Bell’s ice cream, decided to
remove all Blue Bell products from its stores
as a precautionary measure, and the retailers
Sam’s Club and Kroger soon followed suit.
The CDC then linked Blue Bell Creameries to
three other Listeria-related illnesses suffered
by individuals in Texas, who had consumed
the company’s ice cream between 2011 and
2014. Blue Bell responded by expanding the
recall of products manufactured at its Brenham
and Broken Arrow facilities. The CDC’s
Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental
Diseases, estimated that the total
number of Listeria-related cases linked to the
company could reach 11.
Blue Bell’s recall of all of its products in the US
was reportedly one of the biggest food recalls
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Special Report: Most Controversial Companies 2015
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