Food Safety News does not take a vacation, nor does it take time off to attend this or that summer conference. But people do, so this is a time of opportunity for you. We’d like to invite you to try your hand as one of our contributing opinion-editorial writers. If you choose to accept our invitation, you could be joining some of the best-known food safety people in government, industry and academia whom we count among our contributors. We have been the go-to publication for sharing ideas with the food safety world, and we’ve run editorials from high-profile players in the food industry, insightful academics, and leaders at FDA, USDA and CDC, alongside everyday people, with something to say about food safety. At most times of the year, if you submit an op-ed to Food Safety News, it is a good bet there is a line ahead of you. For the rest of the summer, there is not likely to be much waiting since those who are usually in line seem to have scattered for vacations and conferences. We don’t pay our contributing writers because then we could not call them “contributing” writers. But we can’t help noticing that our contributing writers are often the same people getting the big job offers and opportunities for exotic foreign travel. We don’t want to oversell ourselves, but there are advantages to becoming known. Becoming a Food Safety News contributing writer is not difficult, but there are few things you should know. You should have something to say about food safety. This is important because we are called Food Safety News. We are sure your grandma’s sugar cookie recipes were great, but unless she poisoned people with them and then learned some lessons you want to share, it won’t be a fit. In other words, you want to have a food safety angle and your topic should interest our large, broad audience. Somewhere around a half-million people check in on Food Safety News every month. With a submission, first-time contributors also need to submit a photo, a short biography, and links for their author’s file at Food Safety News. This is the area shown after someone clicks on your byline. Links to websites, email, and twitter accounts are most common. Food Safety News does not impose any minimum or maximum word counts on contributing writers. However, most probably fall in the 600- to 1,200-word range. Either Managing Editor Cathy Siegner or I are available if you want to run your idea past us before you start writing. Or, if you’ve already written something, just turn it in to Cathy (I tend to lose things). Either of us would be happy to take any questions you have. Think of how accomplished you’ll feel sharing your thoughts with a few hundred thousand of your associates in food safety rather than just sitting on a beach somewhere! Contact us via email as listed below: Dan Flynn, Editor in Chief Food Safety News dflynn@foodsafetynews.com Cathy Siegner, Managing Editor Food Safety News csiegner@foodsafetynews.com
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