My mom and I debate many topics. Social security is a recent one. I didn’t expect apple juice boxes in her refrigerator to appear next on the agenda.
After recently researching the safety of cell phone towers, I was not prepared to recharge so soon for another topic of trepidation. Then Dad informed me about the Consumer Reports article raising concerns about apple juice.
I try to approach such stories with skepticism. Similar to Monsters Inc., some media energize themselves with a good scare based on a study from a European institute of higher education no one previously heard of. For example, my former TV station assigned me so many stories about germs, I could release a trilogy on DVD with bonus features to spare. My story about “money germs” made my former colleagues laugh instead of scared, but several TV stations across the country aired my report with a straight face.
Despite serving up skepticism, I took the logical approach to apple juice-gate: Don’t drink it! Then came the debate about the apple juice boxes in mom’s fridge. So I decided to actually do my own research. I Googled “apple juice” and read articles questioning the study and language indicating, as usual, the need for more scientific evidence.
I clicked on Mott’s website. The home page includes a clearly marked, green section “Get the facts about apple juice safety.” I didn’t need to click on a maze of links to learn the company’s position on the controversy. The green box took me to information which appeared to directly address the Consumer Reports story. Mott’s wrote with a tone indicating why families might be confused and concerned.
I keep reading about apple juice and I’m still not sure what to believe. And despite Mott’s home page approach, some consumers will always assume big business is feeding them a line. But, for us, the golden apple of public relations is acknowledging the problem, sympathizing and addressing it … and doing so without publishing the information on page 89 of a website, in a corner that requires supernatural vision. I’m not sure what to do with the apple juice boxes in the fridge, but companies can’t let the debate stir on without them getting in the mix.