The U.S. ag secretary says pink slime is a “lesson” for meat companies about the power of social media.

This is why producers and processors should not tie their brand to government.

Social media allow the amplification of a risk issue to be accelerated, but the underlying faults that created the risk scenario remain the same – whether transmitted through Intertubes, paper or Aristotle’s aether.

Decades of food safety issues have revealed that communication is important, but must be coupled with risk assessment and management; fail at any of these components, and there will be losses.

As reported by Meatingplace.com, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a conference call with the media Thursday that the storm over lean finely textured beef (LFTB) is, “a good wake-up call for food companies generally, that when there is an effort that uses the social media effectively, there has to be a rapid and specific and quick and comprehensive response. Hopefully that is a lesson that all food companies throughout the United States have learned.”