In communities across our nation, no tradition runs deeper from generation to generation than that of working on a family farm. By working alongside their parents, grandparents and neighbors, young people learn important life skills and values — the values of hard work, personal responsibility and perseverance.

It’s hard to fathom that the use of ammonium hydroxide, a technology that has been thoroughly evaluated by regulatory authorities and found to be acceptable for food use, is suddenly under such vicious attack.

In my column last month (“USDA policies drag down processors who ‘test and find’, The National Provisioner, March 2012), I discussed how current FSIS policy (which invariably reacts critically to any positive testing results) discourages companies from aggressively testing to find pathogens in their products.

Meat processors cannot ignore the fact that non-animal-based protein ingredients are gaining steam in terms of protein content and quality.

The focus by most of us this year has been on implementation of the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) non-O157 STEC sampling, currently scheduled to begin for beef trim on June 4th.

The recent outbreak in Europe of E. coli has, as one would expect, created fears and trepidation in a world of already weary consumers.

In recent months and years we all have seen the devastation a tsunami wave can have on an island. On June 16-18, I had the opportunity to attend the American Association of Meat Processors Annual Convention and Suppliers Exposition at the Peppermill Resort and Casino in Reno.

With help For me, as a parent, family movie night means I'm watching one Disney cartoon or another. On the rare occasion when we don't get stuck with some princess movie the girls feel like watching, the parents get to pick out something. Recently, we picked "Ratatouille."

Like the proverbial lineman whose number is only called when he commits a penalty, industry seldom gets any accolades for its efforts to produce safe food.

It seems that the word of the month around The National Provisioner, as well as around my own business travels, is "trust."