Current Themes

Ongoing special issues address emerging food safety and hygiene challenges.

Check call for papers announcements for active themes and deadlines.

Ongoing special issues highlight urgent food safety and hygiene challenges.

Summaries connecting findings to consumer protection strengthen real world impact.

Explain how confounders were handled in observational food studies.

Describe quality assurance steps for laboratory and processing environments.

Clarify whether results generalize across processing environments.

Document packaging conditions or transport variables when relevant.

Explain how cleaning validation was documented and audited.

Explain the role of packaging materials in contamination control.

What to Highlight

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Include calibration and validation details for analytical instruments.

Report software versions and packages to support reproducibility.

Explain how sanitation verification was performed and documented.

Explain how missing data were handled in analyses.

Explain how sensory or consumer data were validated.

Include batch sampling schedules and rationale for frequency.

Report how shelf life endpoints were determined and validated.

Participation

Align your manuscript with the theme and highlight its methodological contribution and applied relevance.

Early coordination with guest editors helps align timelines and review expectations.

Clear reporting of food safety methods improves reproducibility across laboratories.

Describe sample handling timelines to avoid bias in microbiological results.

Describe batch effects and correction methods in multi site studies.

Report statistical corrections for multiple testing when necessary.

Report effect sizes relative to practical thresholds for safety or quality.

Provide context for cost, scalability, or implementation feasibility.

Discuss temperature monitoring and corrective actions during storage.

Document pre and post intervention hygiene performance.

Participation Steps

Document hygiene practices and sanitation protocols so readers can compare results.

When using sensory data, report panel training and scoring scales.

Clarify storage temperatures and shelf life conditions for samples.

Provide a rationale for selected microbial indicators or biomarkers.

Include details on control samples and reference materials.

Describe how water activity or pH influenced microbial outcomes.

Clarify how supplier quality assurance informed the study design.

Include clear definitions for critical control points.

Contact

Email [email protected] for updates on current collections.

Explain how contamination risks were assessed and mitigated during experiments.

Provide uncertainty measures for key food safety outcomes.

Include references to standards or regulatory guidance where applicable.

Discuss limitations related to food matrix complexity or sample size.

Describe steps taken to minimize cross contamination.

Report how allergen controls were verified during processing.

Describe traceability practices for ingredient and product lots.

Summarize risk assessment methods and assumptions used.