This past year has been an exciting one for the baking industry, especially in terms of the progress made on revising the ANSI/ASB Z50.2 Bakery Equipment Sanitation Standard (formerly known as the “BISSC Standard”). Representatives from across the baking industry, including bakers, bakery engineers, bakery equipment manufacturers and academics have come together to give their input on updating this standard.

Is it just me or does it seem like the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s MyPlate came out just last week? 

Frustration with Washington continues to mount, with the serious challenges facing our country.

The long and tortuous path to enacting and implementing President Obama’s signature achievement, the Affordable Care Act, has taken yet another twist.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been on a roll lately. Its regulatory agenda is so full that advocates went to court to force timelines on the multitude of food-safety regulations required by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). 

Are you thinking about restocking your packaging supplies? If you are, then you have a lot to think about before making the investment. 

After the resounding victory by Republicans at all levels of government—local, state and federal—in November, there was some speculation about the posture and tone President Obama might take in his final two years in office.

A growing and consistent theme in the policy debates in which the American Bakers Association (ABA) is engaged is the importance of science to fortify our position.

Many of us are asking ourselves where the summer went, and it is difficult to find a good answer. I hope you had some deserved downtime with family at some point.

When 2015 began, most Washington, D.C. observers predicted more gridlock in Washington.

Multiple prevailing trends at the consumer and regulatory levels will factor into the business concerns of the bakery industry over the coming year. These include product-development dynamics like non-GMO, nutritional labeling, transparency and food safety—all of which have the potential to positively influence overall shopper perceptions related to bread and the other baked goods that play a part of dietary patterns.

One of the strangest, most-convoluted policy fights in the history of modern food just cleared a major hurdle in July with President Obama’s expected signature of the GMO Labeling agreement between Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).

With the election of Donald Trump, and a slightly narrower Republican majority in Congress, Washington and the national punditocracy is both stunned and clamoring to find meaning in the election results.

The 2017 American Bakers Association (ABA) Convention featured our most thought-provoking and provocative program yet, centered around the enormous disruptions impacting the baking industry.

This past year on the Stronger Together tour, after the merger of the American Bakers Association (ABA) and the Biscuit & Cracker Manufacturers’ Association, we stopped at Kansas State University (KSU) to meet with the Bakery Science & Management students and participate in the Grain Science and Industry Advisory Council meeting.

At long last, FDA has provided guidance on many dietary fibers. To be clear, the FDA announcement covers about 70–75 percent of common dietary fibers in use today, so more work needs to be done.

I recently met with one of the most actively engaged and supportive members of the American Bakers Association (ABA) and their senior management team. They asked me to provide a market and Washington update.

Even though the year started in a partial government shutdown, the government relations team from the American Bakers Association (ABA) continued to push forward on several key regulatory initiatives.

As of the last regulatory update from the American Bakers Association (ABA), we were coming out of a governmental shutdown. Now, the clock is ticking as we stare down the August recess in Congress and feel continued residual delays from that shutdown.

All federal food policy is based on the recommendations stemming from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The American Bakers Association (ABA) leads the Grain Chain, an organization of 10 groups from grain growers and millers, as well as bakers and others who have an interest in growing grain consumption.

In the ongoing grip of the COVID-19 pandemic as we enter a new year, and a new administration in Washington, we reached out for an update from Robb MacKie, President and CEO, American Bakers Association (ABA), Washington, D.C.

The fly-in will connect baking industry leaders with elected officials in the nation’s capitol.

 
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The essence of plumbing is its mechanical genius.

The nature of plumbing is such that its most clever innovations usually are obscure to the public eye.

Plumbing and mechanical contracting companies have been the birthright of generations.

These are the Dead Men that PM columnist Dan Holohan holds in high esteem.

American plumbers have accomplished more in two centuries than the Romans did in 10.

People take for granted devices such as the T&P valve, kitchen disposal, flush toilet and so many of our industry's other useful gadgets that have made lives safer, healthier, more comfortable and convenient.

Every year on March 11, the international plumbing community comes together to celebrate World Plumbing Day. The day aims to spread awareness of the importance of plumbing and plumbers in protecting public health and improving access to clean water and sanitation facilities. 

Tool Tips—February 2019

Tool Tips—July 2019

First, remove the overflow trim. Then, insert a water hose down overflow. 

We do gas and electric water heaters for lots of residential customers. 

Contractors are a mobile breed — constantly on the move, from job to job. With so much shuffling around, there is more opportunity for human error — tools ending up on the wrong jobsite on the wrong day. When you have inventory tied up across different jobs, in the back of a work truck or van, or in a warehouse on a high shelf that’s rarely dusted, it’s easy for mistakes to be made.

I have been reading a lot of tips about setting toilet bowls. 

Recently, while doing an emergency water heater replacement, I needed some lube for the small O-rings on the mixing valve. 

NFPA 70 provides the important details for design.

The Johnson Controls GRINNELL G-Fire One-Bolt Coupling features a single-bolt design that eliminates alternate tightening.

Effective July 8, 2019, Victaulic has purchased Globe Fire Sprinkler. Combined, these two respected companies will have the resources and capabilities to bring exciting new solutions to the fire protection industry around the world, Victaulic notes.

Spencer Bell has been a fan of HoldRite plumbing brackets and the TESTRITE DWV testing system for years. So recently, when he heard that HoldRite had innovated the cast-in-place firestop sleeve process, he didn’t waste time learning more about it.

BNP Media Plumbing Group Multimedia Editor Nadia Askar recently sat down with Michael Whiteside, president and owner of Chicago-based MIFAB.

Pressure relief valves protect fire sprinkler system components by relieving excess system pressure from supply surges or temperature changes. Since the 2010 edition, NFPA 13: “Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems” has required pressure relief valves to be installed on all wet pipe fire sprinkler systems. But picking the correct relief valve for a specific system does need a little preplanning.

Corrosion in fire sprinkler systems can go undetected until it's too late, causing damage or loss of life. Traditional ITM protocols can accelerate corrosion, but new advancements offer better prevention and monitoring for protecting lives and property.

Eighty-two percent of respondents use digital tools daily to help streamline training and development programs. The majority of respondents within this group recognize the diverse benefits that digital tools offer the skilled trades industry.

Leave behinds are low-cost items that you give to customers to promote your brand following service calls or that you give away during home shows and other events. Oftentimes, plumbers stumble with leave behinds because they select things they might like instead of what the customer values. Here are 17 great leave behinds that will build brand recall with consumers.

You would never send your plumbers into the field without training and tools, right? What about the necessary sales training? Here is a simple 8-step approach that you can weave into your weekly service meetings to boost your team’s effectiveness in promoting add-ons.

If you rely on search engine marketing for calls, you are putting your company at risk because you are relying on the unreliable. Here are eight steps to wean your company off big tech dependency.

Why are some plumbers winners, while others struggle? It is not the market, location of the company, the role of government, customers’ attitudes, the availability of manpower or any of the other excuses bandied about. Winning plumbers share a set of intangible traits that affect how they approach the world, how they see the world, and thus, how the world responds to them.