Some groceries giving Erin a second chance

Even though most of the supermarkets across the country have pulled Erin Farm products off their shelves, some of them said they will continue to support the company once they rectify the problem and try to re-build customer confidence. Erin Farm Meat Packers Ltd had shutdown its processing plant and recalled a batch of infected meat products recently after the Ministry of Health’s Food and Drug Division identified the lysteria monocytogenes bacteria in a batch of Erin Farm’s chicken franks, spiced ham and turkey. Checks with supermarkets across the country yesterday revealed that most of them had pulled the products off the shelf but others were willing to give them a second chance.

One of them, Tru Valu’s Long Circular Manager, Anthony Akow said Erin took all the pre-cautions that were necessary including a total clean-up. “They handled the situation with good tact and when they are ready to sell again, we will continue to support them,” he said.
“We always had a good relationship with Erin and we would like to maintain that,” Akow added. Kumar Maharaj, CEO of Maharaj West Side Supermarket, Arima said even though his customers are afraid to buy Erin’s products, he appealed to consumers to give them a second chance. “Erin has always been a high quality product and in fact, it is one of the highest quality in local meat products. I don’t feel we should just wash our hands off them like that but give them a second chance,” said Maharaj. “I really think it was a genuine problem and human error and I will be willing to support them once again when they have sorted out the problem,” he added. Rohan Sinanan of Food Master, Tunapuna also gave his support to Erin. “From day one they handled the situation well and I think it is just a matter of re-building customer confidence,” he said. Sinanan felt Erin just needs time to sort out the problem. “But once they sort it out, we will be willing to support them again in the future,” he said.