Reporting On... - Revista F&H

8
Antonio Lavao | Frunet manager
“The civil service turned
its back on us, but not
the customers”
LAVAO CRITICIzES THE LACK OF AID FROM THE SPANISH
ASSOCIATIONS; NEVERTHELESS, HE EMPHASIzES THE
CONFIDENCE OF THE CUSTOMERS.
By Daniel Lafuente
and Manuel Flores
F&H: Several months passed
since the outbreak of E-Coli.
Which is the present situation
of your company?
A.L: “At the moment we are happy,
after what happened the confidence
of the customers have
come back which is the most important,
and we are selling normally.
The truth is that the whole
team went through bad times
and now we are more motivated
than before”.
F&H: “Frunet is an international
reference in the production
and commercialization of
organic products. Which was
your first reaction in view of
the denunciation of the German
Government when the
bacterium was found in one of
the cucumber shipments?
A.L: “At the beginning we did
not believe it; we thought that
this could not be happening. We
felt helplessness and frustration
because we were accused without
any proof. In fact, we were called
assassins and nobody thought
about if it was certain or not,
everything was very unfair, very
excessive and unprofessional on
the part of the authorities and
the German press”.
Protocols
F&h: Do you think that the protocols
of action of the German
Government were the rightest?
A.L: “No, not at all. The German
myth of the efficiency and seriousness
was absent. They have
F&H International 1 • November 2011 Interview
managed the crisis very bad as
much for us as for its own citizens,
they were “groping in the
dark”, and blaming on the Spanish
producers when there was
still people becoming ill because
of the true origin of the bacterium,
which they did not manage
to find it. There was many
disinformation and discoordination
of the different German administrations.
Really, it is a clear
example of how not to manage
the crisis”.
F&H: Was your company the
scapegoat of the crisis?
A.L: “Without a doubt. After
some weeks with the problem
and the important pressure of
the German press, they needed
to focus the attention on other
side so then they blamed on the
“poor little Spanish”, because
they cannot defend themselves.
In addition, if they were in the
rush and mistaken, there is no
problem because they lead…”
F&H: Would the reaction of the
German Government be the
same if the origin of the outbreak
was in products of another
country?
A.L: “The origin never was in
products of outside the zone of
Hamburg. It is obvious for all
that the origin was there. However,
if they had accused to the
French products, for example, in
my opinion we think that they
had not done it unless they were
totally sure of it”.
F&H: And if the outbreak came
from a German product?
A.L: “Of course the outbreak is
in a product coming from Ger-
many, is there any doubt?”.
F&H: Frunet was not the unique
company accused. Were right
the steps taken by the other
company?
A.L: “It was a moment of much
tension and each one does what
he thinks he has to do in that
moment.
F&H: Did you feel protected
and supported by the Spanish
Agrarian Associations?
A.L: “At no moment. This crisis
has shown that this sector is
not united and that the different
groups walk in different ways.
Everything is politicized, this is
the way everything work”.
F&H: And did you feel protected
by the public Institutions?
A.L: “The Government of Spain
did not live up to the expectations,
and I think that many people
that suffered this crisis think
the same like me”.