About Our Writers

This site’s editor, ETHEL TIERSKY, has been a free-lance writer since 1963 and a food safety fanatic for even longer. She has published dozens of magazine articles and co-authored 14 grammar texts and readers for adults studying the English language. Developing this site has kept her busy since retiring from her teaching position as associate professor of English at Harry Truman College in Chicago. Her writings for the site include FAQs explaining food product dating, a TIP entitled ”It Says 'Use By Tomorrow,' But You Don't Have to" and product write-ups on mayonnaise and water. Her greatest achievement in life? Never giving her family food poisoning.

Deftly handling three roles—researcher, reviewer, and author—SUSAN BREWER, Ph.D., Professor of Food Science, has made invaluable contributions to this website. Her writings on the site include FAQs on each of these topics: bacteria, mold, oxidation, plastics, preservatives, and food-borne illness. Dr. Brewer teaches courses in food safety and food product development at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana. She has also published several articles on food safety and quality in academic journals.

Our site’s most prolific writer, JOHN GREGERSON, authored the majority of our product Q/As, as well as much of the content for our “Product Category” and “Product Type” pages. A veteran journalist, Gregerson has written extensively about food-quality and food-safety issues, both as a freelancer and editor and managing editor of four food-industry publications.

The author of our product Q/As on coffee, tea, hard liquor, and eggs as well as the reviewer of Omnivore's Dilemma and Fast Food Nation, ARTHUR TIERSKY is also a writer for film and television, an occasional game show contestant, and a certified poker dealer. 

JANIS GUGGENHEIM, a free-lance writer with many years’ experience, has a long-standing interest in food safety and history and an extensive book collection on food-related subjects. For this website, she has authored product write-ups on canned tomatoes, apple juice, orange juice, flour, and sugar as well as the section on unrefrigerated lunches and some of the book reviews. As a one-time columnist, reporter, and correspondent, she has published many articles and reviews.  

Several of this site’s FAQs on dairy products—including those on milk, cream cheese, and sour cream—were written by ALISON SOLTAU. She also authored our extensive TIPS on proper refrigerator care and use. Soltau wrote about food safety “for web-savvy urban foodies” prior to working on this site. She also wrote copy about hardware tools, real estate, and travel. In addition, she created blogs and developed various PR initiatives.