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Fast Food Scandal Analysis Essay

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Fast Food Scandal Analysis

Article Number 1 Title: “There May Be a Little Poop in Your Starbucks Iced Coffee”
Author: Clint Rainy
Date of Article: March 1, 2017

Summary of Topic:
What are faecal coliforms? These are microscopic bacteria which originate from human waste. In other words, the intestines of warm-blooded animals. Such bacteria often pollute water sources however in the case of the following article, faecal coliforms were found in the ice of the Starbucks food franchise. The issue with faecal coliforms is that their presence in water indicates the presence of other more dangerous bacteria, it is this more dangerous bacteria that causes water-borne diseases such as cholera or typhoid which is deadly. (Washington State …show more content…

(Rainy, 2017)

Article Analysis:
The scandal affecting Starbucks in this particular article directly links to the business topic of marketing and more specifically, the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) no.68 of 2008. Traces of faecal bacteria do not belong in beverages. What this scandal says about the Starbucks franchise is that it is negligent, unsanitary and ultimately does not care for the well-being of its consumers. According to the CPA, which is a legal document that protects the rights of consumers, “Consumers have the right to fair value, good quality and safety of goods and services”. Unfortunately, the scandal in the article is an infringement of those rights because the iced coffee at Starbucks was of poor quality and had the potential to make customers very sick.

The following is not mentioned in the article; however, I think that after such an infringement, that particular Starbucks franchise will most probably be under close surveillance and have spontaneous checks from the food industry regulators from the UK. This will negativity affect staff as they will always be feeling on edge.

In addition to that, Starbucks will have to also make an effort and spend money in terms of minimizing the effects of the negative publicity it gained. Not only was the brand exposed, but it was exposed of national television in the UK. Such exposure will reduce consumer confidence because the buyers behaviour has been negatively influenced

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