Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., December 19, 2008 Kislev 22, 5769 | | Israel Time: 02:35 (EST+7)   Back to Homepage web haaretz.com Haaretz Toolbar Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate GA 2008 Travel Week's End Anglo File

False rumor linking Bamba to baby deaths sparks panic By TheMarker Correspondent and Staff , By Ayala Tsoref No, Osem is not recalling Bamba and the popular peanut-based snack food has not been declared hazardous to babies, or adults for that matter. A mendacious e-mail making the rounds yesterday linked Bamba and the recent spate of unexplained infant deaths in Israel. It spread like wildfire, not only by email but by SMS text messages and word of mouth. Advertisement According to the email, Osem was to issue a press release Wednesday night announcing a correlation between Bamba and the deaths. The attack triggered a storm over at the management of Osem, which manufactures and markets the snack food. The company reacted swiftly, contacting the Health Ministry and asking for its confirmation that the story was no more than a lie. The ministry complied, stating that the unusual deaths had not been linked with any food products whatsoever. "We hope that the denial by the Health Ministry will bring an end to the malicious and mendacious rumors," Osem said in a statement. In parallel, company workers entered parenting and childcare forums online, identifying themselves as Osem customer-service department representatives, and reassuring surfers that Bamba was safe. At least some damage had already been done. The e-mail sent Osem stock spiraling south, falling as much as 6% before rallying to close only 1% lower, on enormous turnover - for Osem - of NIS 27 million. A few hours after the affair erupted, Osem's spokeswoman confirmed that the company will be filing a complaint with the police this morning, asking that the source of the email be investigated. They request may not be needed, as the source has already been outed - a woman working at Hewlett-Packard. She disseminated the mail among all HP workers in Israel, who number in the hundreds, writing that by evening Osem would be issuing a press release recalling Bamba, and saying that Super-Pharm was going to remove the product from its shelves. She even signed the e-mail using her own name and added her phone number, giving the police a blessedly short investigation. In an exchange of email between her and another HP worker who asked for more details on the affair, the woman wrote that her uncle works at Super-Pharm and had told her the story. The woman could not be reached for comment. It was evident that Osem's management had been caught off guard and wasn't sure how to counter the attack, especially since the enemy was not a corporate competitor, but just an ordinary person who had caused tremendous damage with the click of a mouse. "Osem will take legal steps against the person who sent this malicious e-mail," the company said, noting the panic that the lie had sparked. A source at the Health Ministry said that from afternoon, the ministry had been inundated with phone calls from frightened consumers, demanding confirmation or denial of the report. "We underestimated the intensity of reaction to this fabrication," commented a manager at Osem. "We didn't think that so many people would take an e-mail that stupid seriously. I don't want to think what would have happened if [we] had been a small company that didn't have mechanisms to reach people at the Health Ministry quickly, asking them to issue an announcement denying the mail." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Picking up the pieces U.S. Jews ponder 'catastrophic' effects of Bernard Madoff affair. Little Adolf Three-year-old Adolf Hitler finally gets his name on his birthday cake.

Read & React 3-year-old Adolf Hitler finally gets his name on his birthday cake Responses: 177 Barak: Iran could attack the U.S. with a nuclear bomb Responses: 132 Britain steps up fight against West Bank settlements Responses: 180 Leftist U.S. Jewish group backs Israelis who shun IDF draft Responses: 68 Jews of Yemen reportedly to be relocated in wake of deadly attack Responses: 33 More Headlines 00:14 Israel: We hold Hamas responsible for any future Gaza violence 01:10 Olmert: It is possible to negotiate peace deal with Syria 01:12 Eilat crash driver under house arrest; bodies of Russian victims flown home 23:34 Labor youth hand out condoms to avoid being 'screwed by Netanyahu' 02:32 Shady land deal unfolds from West Bank to California strip mall 00:04 IN PICTURES / The victims of Bernard Madoff's fraud scam 00:04 Palestinian journalists protest for release of Iraqi colleague who threw shoes at Bush 20:29 Want to help improve the Haaretz.com homepage? 01:54 Bush, Rice to host Palestinian leader Abbas in goodbye visit 22:28 Radioactive bomb-detection system installed in Haifa port 01:41 Netanyahu to Sarkozy: Israel can`t accept ongoing Gaza rocket fire 01:14 VIDEO / Hadassah Women: We lost $90 million in Madoff's Wall Street scam 15:53 School teacher dies after falling eight meters into Golan Heights stream 12:11 Israel bites back at UN watchdog over alleged strike on Syria reactor 10:59 Leftist U.S. Jewish group backs Israelis who shun IDF enlistment 14:46 Dozens of police officers injured in botched civil unrest drill 10:17 Exclusive Jewish country club feels the sting of Madoff fraud Previous Editions Select Day 18 dec 17 dec 16 dec 15 dec 14 dec 12 dec 11 dec 10 dec 09 dec 08 dec 07 dec 05 dec

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