Editorial Workflow

On submission, authors should use online submission system. If a manuscript does not meet the general criteria for publication, it will be returned to the authors without being peer reviewed, typically within 7 working days. Before making such a decision, Editor-in-chief might discuss a paper with an editorial colleague or with a member of the journal’s Editorial advisory board to seek a second opinion. Otherwise, manuscripts are sent to reviewers, who are requested to complete their review within 17 working days. In cases where reviewers disagree, an editor may choose to share all the reports with one or more of the original referees, or with an additional reviewer or Editorial Advisory Board member, to elicit feedback to help the editor reach a decision. However, please note that editorial decisions are not made according to a majority rule as an editor will carefully evaluate the recommendations of all the reviewers before reaching a final decision. The average decision time for paper subjected to peer review is about 35 days from the submission date. If revisions are a condition of publication, we allow three months for a revised manuscript to be resubmitted (unless an author has specific reasons for requesting an extension). Articles that are resubmitted after this time are considered as new submissions. We do not accept resubmissions of manuscripts that have been previously rejected for publication by the journal, unless the Editor has specifically indicated that a resubmission would be considered in their decision letter.

Authors may appeal decisions if there are strong grounds to believe there have been errors or misunderstandings on the part of the editor or referees. All appeals are carefully considered by the editors.

Post Acceptance

All accepted articles are copyedited by trained scientific copy editors. Proofs are sent to the corresponding author in PDF format and authors are given 48 hours in which to check their proofs, answer queries outlined on their proof and return their proof corrections.

Accepted papers are published within three months of acceptance, or often earlier on Food and Life’s ePress site. Any major changes made to a paper after its acceptance can be subject to review and may delay publication.