OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- The main producer of "pink slime" will have a hard time persuading consumers and grocery stores to accept the product, even if it the processed beef trimmings are as safe as the industry insists.

Three governors and two lieutenant governors plan to tour Beef Products Inc.'s plant in South Sioux City, Neb., Thursday afternoon to support the company and the several thousand jobs it creates in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Texas.

Critics call the product an unappetizing example of industrialized food production and dub it "pink slime." But the product, which has been used for years, meets federal food safety standards.

Larry Smith, with the Institute for Crisis Management, says he's not sure the company will be able to overcome the public stigma at this point.