I started Food Safety News in 2009 to meet a need. Reporters who covered food – especially food safety – disappeared at the same time that Congress focused on whether it would pass the most important piece of food safety legislation in decades: the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
The reporters, three at a time, paid close attention to the ins and outs. At critical hearings, the only reporter present was often the one and only Helena Bottemiller. What Dan Flynn (a bit of a cheapskate, but my friend since 1977) – with the help of several great reporters (two with three Pulitzer Prizes) – has guided over the past fifteen years has been simply astonishing. Food Safety News has been called the ‘newspaper of record in the field of food safety’ and has now grown to more than 55,000 subscribers worldwide and more than 2,000,000 views per month. Food Safety News has also developed quite a social media presence:
Facebook – 202,000 followers
LinkedIn – 37,019 followers
X/Twitter — 42.9K followers
Instagram – 5,878 followers
The current crew, Dan in Colorado, Coral in Kansas, Jonan in West Virginia, Cookson in Washington, Chuck in Michigan and Joe in Great Britain, are doing a spectacular job serving up a full platter of news 24/7/365. And many thanks also to all the opinion pieces and comments from food safety thought leaders from around the world.
I am so proud of what has been created and I want to make sure it continues long after I hang up my courtroom robes. You see, for the last fifteen years, I’ve funded most of this venture myself – at least about 95% of it. So this past year I’ve been consulting with a bright young man, Peter Gustafson, about how we can continue the food safety news story long after I’m gone. So you’ve seen some changes. We are experimenting with advertising like many other newspapers around the world are doing. We have also taken into account some nominal subscription costs. We are also considering donations and even turning Food Safety News into a non-profit organization.
All the above changes are with one thought in mind; continuing and improving the quality of the product and at the same time trying to find a path to sustainability. It’s a balance, and I take that very seriously. I urge everyone to share ideas, comments and constructive criticism. I’m always just an email away: bmarler@marlerclark.com