Brief Aims and Scope
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture publishes peer-reviewed original research, reviews, and perspectives in these areas, with particular emphasis on interdisciplinary studies at the agriculture/ food interface. The journal focuses on hypothesis-driven research studies suitable for an international audience. Studies of local products or descriptive studies are discouraged. Consult the full description of the area related to your manuscript before submitting to ensure it is appropriate for the Journal.
Integrated (or Multidisciplinary) Studies: those addressing multiple topics listed below are especially encouraged.
Food - Health and Nutrition: Enhancing human or animal health and wellness with novel or supplemented foods, especially for chronic diseases; evaluating nutritional endpoints versus food composition.
Food Qualities: Novel development or production of human food that alters product qualities, including sensory or stability factors, and study of related food components.
Food Safety: Evaluation and management of risks including chemical, microbiological, and molecular biology issues.
Food Materials and Food Engineering: Food structure and physical properties of raw materials and processed foods, as well as insights into process engineering; packaging; biomass and bioenergy.
Food Science and Technology, Sustainable Production: Innovations in development, production and processing of human or animal food, and beverages; innovations that improve stability or enhance sustainability; measurement of characteristics and functionalities.
Sensory and Consumer Sciences: Perception and characteristics of foods and beverages; consumer behaviour issues, including acceptability and preference.
Agriculture - Production: Plant and animal breeding and management including value-added products that affect yield, quality and sustainability. Systems biology studies are encouraged.
Agriculture - Utilisation: Post harvest utilisation of plants, animals, fish and derived products as human food, animal feed, or for industrial applications.
Agriculture - Environment: The impact of agricultural practices on the environment, through altered or novel farming methods; impacts and adaptation to climate change.
Many studies are likely to overlap several subject areas. Manuscripts will be allocated to the editor whose primary interests are appropriate to the main subject of the paper.
Detailed Aims and Scope
FOOD - HEALTH AND NUTRITION
Defined as: Human and animal nutrition. Enhancing health or nutritional value with novel or modified foods, improved bioavailability, or food supplementation, particularly for chronic diseases and obesity. Evaluation of foods and processing relevant to nutritional or health related attributes.
Key scientific areas for the journal:
Animal and human in vivo studies of foods or ingredients with distinct nutritional endpoints where the responsible components are well characterized.
Innovative value–added technology or processing that improves the nutritional value of food or nutrient absorption, including components that affect chronic disease or obesity.
Composition of foods or ingredients, especially using comprehensive (Omics) methods, particularly those related to nutritional value, nutrient delivery or health parameters, including obesity.
Studies of the genetics or gene expression in plants that affect nutritional or bioactive content of foods, especially after processing.
Studies of the effects of foods and ingredients on gut microbiota and nutrient or bioactive metabolites in the gut.
Innovative analytical procedures for the measurement of nutritional or functional properties, bioavailability and/or biological activity of foods and food ingredients.
Studies on food–nutrient interactions.
Dietetic, functional and specialty foods to cater to specialty groups/consumers.
We will not consider papers that:
Are descriptive and not hypothesis-led (research papers) such as optimizing routine ingredient recovery.
Are of only local significance i.e. indigenous foods, without wider applicability or exceptional nutritional or health related properties.
Are reporting in vitro antioxidant potential as the focus of the study.
Are reporting in vitro, cell culture or in vivo studies of plant materials, and extracts thereof, that are not used in commercial agriculture (botanicals or pharmaceuticals) or food production. These studies should be sent to natural products journals.
Measure the characteristics of foods purchased at local markets (as the origins and storage condition of these foods is unknown) unless this is a market-basket survey.
Evaluate effects of compounds on body systems at a cellular or biochemical/molecular level.
FOOD QUALITIES
Defined as: Innovative development, production and processing of human food and beverages and animal feeds that alters product qualities including texture, shelf life, flavours, colors, or aromas. Measurement of food and ingredient characteristics and functionalities. Novel insights into the chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology that affects the qualities of foods, feeds, ingredients and components.
Key scientific areas for the journal:
Studies investigating novel food processing or processing aids (i.e. those that improve or alter well–characterized food qualities and the responsible components.)
Studies that reveal the fundamental chemistry, biochemical, physical or microbial processes that control food qualities.
Value addition to the chain through innovative food technologies based on a scientific evaluation of the process.
Studies of the genetics or gene expression in agricultural plants that affect qualities of raw or, especially, processed food.
Multi-pronged (i.e. altered ingredient plus processing) approaches utilizing multiple ingredients towards new products that result in improved product qualities.
Studies on food acceptability and dietary selection.
We will not consider papers that:
Are descriptive and not hypothesis-led (research papers).
Are of only local significance without wider applicability or are involved in developing a local food product (e.g. a geographically/culturally unique material in a common food product or a common material in a geographically/culturally unique food product.)
Are dealing with the antioxidant characterisation of foods or components without a chemical composition responsible for the described properties.
Measure the characteristics of foods purchased at local markets (as the origins and storage condition of these foods is unknown) unless this is a market-basket survey.
That attempt to assess food quality or processing fractions in a non-systematic manner.
FOOD SAFETY
Defined as: Microbiological food safety, including on-farm safety management, epidemiology of food-borne illness, novel process and packaging, and detection of food-borne pathogens from production to consumption. Food toxicology and safety evaluation of foods, including genetically modified organisms. Application of risk assessment (including analytical methods) and risk management techniques.
Key scientific areas for the journal:
Chemical and microbiological safety of foods, at all points along the food chain from production to consumption.
Food toxicology.
Traceability of foods and ingredients.
On-farm food safety management.
Epidemiology of food-borne illness.
Novel processing and packaging techniques.
Risk assessment/risk management/risk communication.
Innovations in detection and control of food-borne pathogens and toxins.
Safety evaluation of genetically modified organisms.
We will not consider papers that:
Are descriptive and not hypothesis-led (research papers).
Describe antimicrobial properties of natural compounds without providing evidence of a practical and relevant application to the agri-food industry.
Describe isolation and characterization of “novel” probiotics from local or indigenous foods, unless evidence can be provided that they have exceptional properties.
Concern foods from a limited geographical location unless it can be shown that there are wider implications (e.g., the food is exported to numerous countries or widely consumed in the country of origin).
FOOD MATERIALS AND FOOD ENGINEERING
Defined as: Food structure and physical properties. Physical, chemical and nutritional description of processing changes and product properties of raw materials, critical intermediates (e.g. doughs and batters) and finished products i.e. stability, rheology, emulsions, extrusion, crystallization, water activity. Packaging properties and impact on foods.
Key scientific areas for the journal:
Dispersed systems and technologies for production, stabilization and utilization of complex dispersed systems in foods.
Food component interactions, chemical, physical and thermodynamic properties.
Physicochemical characterization of food materials and innovative use of material characteristics in food design, processing and nutrient delivery.
Food structure formation, structural characterization of food materials.
Phase and state transitions in food processing, stability control and digestion.
Food rheology and physicochemical characterization for human digestion.
Engineering properties of foods for food processing and materials science applications.
Analytical tools for understanding foods in processing, storage and digestion.
Food materials design and engineering for nutrient delivery.
The physical biochemistry of the structure and function of foods and feeds (including ingredients and added processing aids).
We will not consider papers that:
Are descriptive and not hypothesis-led (research papers).
Are of only local significance without wider applicability (culinary practices, food processes and materials of local and limited interests).
Relate to engineering and design of equipment.
Engineering studies other than those to address food materials.
FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION
Defined as: Development, production and processing of human food and beverages and animal feeds. Measurement of food and ingredient characteristics and functionalities. Innovations in post-harvest processing that improve stability, and enhance sustainability (loss reduction). New or enhanced production processes that increase production yield or reduce losses between production and consumption. Studies of input streams, processing materials and output qualities.
Key scientific areas for the journal:
Applications of biotechnology, genetic modification and molecular biology, bioinformatics and ‘omics’ technology to plants, animals and microorganisms as they relate to, food production and processing, and fermentation technology.
The study of microbiological treatments to food processing.
Agricultural chain and value addition to commodities inclusive of productivity in the field and interaction with processing efficiency.
Studies on the effects of processes on components in foods and beverages.
Post-harvest handling with innovative technologies for minimising losses in the larger area of human food, animal feeds and animal and marine sources.
New technology development in the engineering aspects with a focus on innovation for energy saving and lessening the carbon footprint.
Affordable packaging technologies for ensuring safety of processed foods in the current trend of transportation hazards, climate changes and global movement of Food.
By-products derived by new processing technologies, and value addition.
We will not consider papers that:
Are descriptive and not hypothesis-led (research papers).
Are of only local significance without wider applicability or are involved in developing a local food product (e.g. a geographically/culturally unique material in a common food product or a common material in a geographically/culturally unique food product.)
SENSORY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES
Defined as: Perception and evaluation of characteristics of foods and beverages including flavour, appearance and texture, or other properties. Consumer behaviour issues, including acceptability, preference and other factors.
Key scientific areas for the journal:
Comparisons of sensory testing methods and data analysis techniques.
Application of innovative sensory methods to processed foods and food commodities of widespread or international commercial importance.
Comparisons and correlations of sensory and instrumental measures used in food analysis.
Comparisons and correlations of objective sensory test results (descriptive analysis or discrimination tests) with consumer acceptability or preference.
Sensory methods used to evaluate innovative changes in ingredients, processing methods, packaging variables or nutritionally relevant changes in commercially important products.
Sensory properties, food texture and nutrient delivery.
We will not consider papers that:
Are descriptive and not hypothesis-led (research papers), except when sensory analysis is applied to a food or commodity of widespread or international commercial importance.
Are of only local significance without wider applicability (e.g. locally grown or processed foods or consumer studies limited to a small geographic market.)
Studies using only laboratory or institutional personnel for assessment of consumer acceptance or preference.
Storage and shelf life studies without significant comparisons of processing conditions, storage conditions or other variables.
Comparisons of different cultivars of fruits or vegetables.
Studies of consumer attitudes toward conceptual variables (e.g. attitudes toward GMO foods, organic produce, denomination of origin, stated fat or sodium content, labelling or marketing, etc.) without blind assessment of actual food products.
Studies that make a conclusion of sensory equivalence based on only a finding of no significant differences.
AGRICULTURE – PRODUCTION
Defined as: Plant breeding and cultivation, and animal husbandry including precision agriculture, aquaculture and mariculture. Application of new technology and impact on yields, quality and sustainability. New and improved processes that create or enhance value-added agricultural products. Applications of biotechnology, genetic modification and molecular biology, bioinformatics and ‘omics’ technology to plants, animals and microorganisms as they relate to agriculture.
Key scientific areas for the journal:
Application of new technology and impact on yields, quality and sustainability.
New and improved processes that create or enhance value-added agricultural products.
Precision agriculture: methods/techniques and quantification of benefits.
Adaptation to climate change.
Role of GM foods in increased productivity.
Biomass production.
Improved water management practices.
We will not consider papers that:
Are descriptive and not hypothesis-led (research papers).
Are of only local significance without wider applicability (crops and/or production systems, nutrients, by-products).
Consider trees or flowers for non-food uses.
Are only concerned with mineral content or proximate analysis.
Are only concerned with the content of a specific compound, unless that compound has a novel application.
Are primarily about pesticides/herbicides (use, formulation, or residues).
AGRICULTURE – UTILISATION
Defined as: Post-harvest utilisation of plants, plant products, animals, animal products, fish and marine products as human food or animal feed. Industrial applications for plants, plant products, animal products and marine products.
Plants include: crops, vegetables, fruits (including viticulture), non-food crops.
Animals include: meat and milk production, aqua and mariculture.
Key scientific areas for the journal:
Improved efficiencies throughout the food value chain.
Novel uses of crops.
Processing of crops for food and industrial uses.
Improved storage of food crops.
Biomass utilisation.
Bioenergy - feedstocks, biodegradation methodologies, potential products.
We will not consider papers that:
Are descriptive and not hypothesis-led (research papers).
Are of only local significance without wider applicability (crops and/or production systems, nutrients, by-products).
Involve toxicity in the processing or toxicity of the by-products.
AGRICULTURE - ENVIRONMENT
Defined as: The link between agricultural production and the potential for impact on the wider environment, including safety and sustainability of agricultural practices. See ‘Agricultural Production’ for the range of enterprises.
Key scientific areas for the journal:
Assessment of the impacts of management of agricultural production systems or individual management practices on:
Emissions to air (e.g. nitrous oxide, ammonia, methane, carbon dioxide)
Emissions to water (e.g. nitrogen, phosphorus, pathogens)
Soil health and quality (e.g. heavy metals)
Development of mitigation practices to control any of the above.
Assessment and modification of the footprint of production systems, e.g. water footprint, carbon footprint, life cycle assessment.
Interactions of improved management practices for environmental protection and yield, quality, profitability of production systems.
Environmental impacts of alternative farming systems on emissions, including organic farming.
Models and their use, e.g. for determining or comparing the impact of different management practices.
Field/paddock, farm, catchment, regional or national scales.
We will not consider papers that:
Are descriptive and not hypothesis-led (research papers).
Are of only local significance without wider applicability (crops and/or production systems, nutrients, by-products).
Are solely about fate of pollutants in water bodies or in soils, i.e. there must be a link between agricultural management and environmental fate.
Are about pesticides unless part of a multi-pollutant study.