A similar statement was issued Monday from Hoechst AG in Frankfurt. Such cigarettes were identified and pulled. The MITC was identified by the following Wednesday. However, by Thursday at 8 PM, the company discovered MITC in cigarettes that were not identifiable by odor. The company appears mystified as to how the contamination got past its rigid quality control.
Sabotage is an option to consider.
The company said its sales force of 3,000, along with personnel from its Kraft Food and Miller Beer divisions, would be pulling the cigarettes from retailers' shelves through the Memorial Day weekend. PM is giving retailers a poster and certificate once its people had cleared a store. Since the announcement came late Friday afternoon, the stock market had little time to react. Competitors and others have asserted the recall was timed at the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend to minimize its impact on Wall St. and the public. Observers don't think the recall will significantly hurt PM's income.