The recent New York Times series on the tragic consequences of E. coli risk from ground beef has prompted progress: Tyson, one of the nation's largest beef suppliers, has reached an accord with Costco.
Costco, as noted by the Times, has taken the step, apparently encouraged by not required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, of independently testing for E. coli after delivery.
Will Costco receive a competitive boost from the favorable publicity about its protective testing requirements?
Will its competitors--such as Wal-Mart--soon follow suit?
Here's betting they will follow suit.... and the corporate bean counters who doubtless discouraged such testing as unjustifiably costly may have to do some reconsideration.
In today's Information Age, good news travels fast and can create significant value--and missteps can be costly, even if technically not out of compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
