NYT finds consumer impact in the SK Foods bribery scheme
William Neuman of The New York Times takes readers inside the bribery schemes involving tomato processor SK Foods by looking at the impact the deals had on food safety. Prosecutors say that “for years, SK Foods shipped its customers millions of pounds of bulk tomato paste and puree that fell short of basic quality standards — with falsified documentation to mask the problems. Often that meant mold counts so high the sale should have been prohibited under federal law.”
The tainted shipments from the California company touched more 55 companies, he writes, but no consumer got sick.
Today’s Tip: Look for the trickle-down effect when writing about white-collar crimes.
In addition to moldy tomatoes, this scheme also led to inflated prices for consumers, according to P.J. Huffstutter’s report in the Los Angeles Times.
When you’re covering Ponzi schemers such as Bernie Madoff, the impact on customers is clear. In other instances, you may have to nose around for the consumer angle when a company or its executives face prosecution.
