Article Submission
Article Submission
Food Technology magazine each month delivers content that reflects a unique blend of the latest industry trends, scientific perspectives, and news. The magazine’s mission is to provide balanced viewpoints on the industry’s most top-of-mind issues, fortified by sound, science-based analysis.
Feature articles cover all aspects of food, from growing and harvesting to production, distribution, and consumption. Topics include but are not limited to automation, biochemistry, biology, biotechnology, chemistry, consumer trends, education, energy analysis, engineering, experimental design, food safety and defense, foodservice, information retrieval, ingredients, labeling, laboratory analysis, management, marketing, microbiology, nanotechnology, nutrition and health, packaging, pollution control, processing, product development, quality assurance, regulation, research, sensory, supply chain management, and sustainability.
Authors should submit an outline or abstract of the proposed article to the editor for advice as to whether the article would be suitable. Authors need not be members of the Institute of Food Technologists.
Articles should be prepared in a feature style, rather than in the standard scientific research paper format. Serial articles are not accepted for publication; each article must be complete. See back issues of Food Technology for examples of feature articles.
To be considered for publication, an article must report on a significant development; have a direct bearing on food, IFT, or IFT members; be of interest to a significant number of IFT members; include sufficient data to support claims and/or conclusions; not have been published elsewhere; and not be under consideration for publication elsewhere.
Acceptability and accuracy of each submitted article are determined by the editorial staff. In special circumstances, the article may be reviewed by one or more scientists known to be experts in the subject area discussed in the article.
Other reasons besides quality and scientific merit, however, affect the decision to accept or reject an article. Among these are the amount of space available, the quality of other articles competing for that space, the mix of articles desired, and the expected degree of interest to IFT members. For these reasons, an article that otherwise meets the criteria enumerated above may occasionally be rejected.
The preferred length for articles is about 2,500 words to 3,000 words, including all images, figures, tables, and references
The author is the copyright owner of the article unless the author’s employer owns copyright. All authors must sign and return a copy of the Publishing and Copyright Licensing Agreement prior to publication. The agreement grants IFT an exclusive license to publish the article in print and electronic formats in all languages and to administer subsidiary rights to third parties.
Each submitted manuscript goes through the following steps:
Type the manuscript double-spaced in a Word document. Do not embed images, tables, or charts within the Word document. Send them as separate attachments.
Arrange the article in the following order: title page, text, acknowledgments (if any), references, tables, figure captions, and figures. Do not include an abstract or a summary.
Include the following information on the title page:
Write the article in a feature style, not the standard scientific research report style (See Food Technology for examples). Use active voice whenever possible.
Divide the article into sections and suggest headings (subheads) that briefly describe the contents of each section. Capitalize only the first letter of each word in the subheads except articles and prepositions. Begin the subheads at the left margin. Do not underline the subheads.
Authors may wish to indicate subsections, if any, within these sections by numbers, letters, bullets, or bullets followed by one or more words. Use only left justification. Enumerate items within a paragraph with numbers and a single parenthesis (e.g., There are three types of preservation methods: 1) drying, 2) canning, and 3) freezing).
Do not use footnotes.
Do not end the article with a summary or conclusions section unless new information or thoughts are presented. Use a descriptive subhead rather than “Summary” or “Conclusions.”
Use italics for brand names. Brand names may be cited in the text of the article but not in the title. When referring to a company in a feature article, include the headquarters location (city and state).
Example: Campbell Soup Co., Camden, N.J.
Begin typing equations at the left margin. Type the equation in a straight line rather than stacked. If the equation runs more than one line, align the runover lines to the right of the equal sign. Distinguish between the number "one" (1) and the letter "el" (l), and between "zero" (0) and the capital letter "oh" (O).
Number all equations. Type the equation number in italic numerals within parentheses at the right margin of the final line of the equation. Refer to equations by the abbreviation "Eq."
Acknowledgments to others for assistance, etc., should be brief. Place acknowledgments after the list of references.
If the article was based on a paper presented during a meeting, cite the meeting name, location, date, and sponsoring organization; e.g., Based on a paper presented during the symposium, "Bacteriophage-Based Interventions to Improve Food Safety,” at the Annual Meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists, Chicago, July 17–21, 2010.
Do not repeat the same data in the text and in tables or in both tables and figures.
Do not type tables in the body of the text. Instead, please send them as separate documents, set up in Excel.
Set up each table in a separate Excel file. (If it is necessary to continue a table on another page, type “(continued)” at the bottom of the first page of the table and “(Table 1, continued)” at the top of the subsequent page(s).)
Number tables in Arabic numerals. The table number should be followed by a descriptive title and/or caption. The table should be self-explanatory without reference to the text.
Do not use vertical lines in tables.
If the unit of measurement is the same for all data in a particular column, place the unit in parentheses under the column heading.
Use superscript or regular letters, not asterisks, to indicate statistical significance.
Submit figures that are professional in appearance and illustrate the point being made. Do not repeat the same data in both tables and figures. Files should be high resolution (print optimized) at 300 dpi resolution and saved as .jpg, .tif, or .eps format files.
Submit high-resolution (300 dpi) electronic images in either a .jpg, .tif, or .eps format. Send not only images that are specifically referred to in the article, but also images that can be used as full-page general illustrations (“mood shots”) on the opening spread of the article or as the cover of the issue the article appears in.
Charts and Graphs
Submit original artwork for charts and graphs. The charts and graphs should be clear, easy to read, and professional in appearance. Use sans-serif type if available. Also submit a list of data points in a Word or Excel document, so the artwork can be reconstructed, if necessary.
Make all illustrations and labeling consistent in style and size.
Place labeling parallel to each axis. Abbreviate the units of measurement (without periods after the abbreviation) and place them in parentheses after the label. Center the labeling along the axis.
For lettering within the figure, use large enough letters (preferably sans serif) so that they will be readable after reduction (see Food Technology for examples). Capitalize the initial letters of all words except articles and prepositions of three letters or fewer.
Captions
Write captions that are self-explanatory without reference to the text.
Cover Illustrations
If you have any high-resolution images (approximately 8.5 inches x 11 inches at 300 dpi) that you think would be suitable to serve as a cover illustration for Food Technology or to illustrate your article, please submit it for consideration. Accepted file formats are .jpg, .tif, or .eps.
A = ampere
cal = calorie
cm = centimeter
cu = cubic
cu ft = cubic foot
cu in = cubic inch
ft = foot
gal = gallon
g = gram
hr = hour
in = inch
K = kelvin
kg = kilogram
L = liter
lb = pound
m = meter
mi = mile
min = minute
mL = milliliter
mo = month
mol = mole
oz = ounce
sec = second
sq = square
sq ft = square foot
yd = yard
yr = year
Use the two-letter zip code abbreviations (e.g., AZ, CA) only when they are accompanied by zip codes; in all other cases, use the traditional abbreviations (e.g., Ariz., Calif.).
Submit a Word document of the manuscript with accompanying artwork via email to the executive editor.
General Guidelines
References in Text
Cite references in the text in the following ways:
If there are two authors, cite both names; e.g., Smith and Jones (2003). If there are three or more authors, use the name of the first author followed by "et al."; e.g., Smith et al. (2003).
Use commas to separate publications by the same author and semicolons to separate publications by different authors (e.g., Robbins, 1982a, b; Thomas, 1986, 1987a, b; Vygantas, 1988).
Examples of Reference List Entries
Article in a Newspaper or a Popular Magazine
Mendelsohn, D. 2010. “But Enough about Me.” New Yorker, Jan. 25.Article in a Print Journal
Mermelstein, N. H. 1993. “Controlling E. coli O157:H7 in meat.” Food Technol. 47(4): 90–91.
Article in an Online Journal
Include a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) if one is listed. If no DOI is available, list a URL. If a cited article appears in a journal’s advance online database, include that information (i.e., “advance online publication” or “online first”) after the publication’s name and before the DOI or URL of the journal’s home page.Ma, X., M. O. Balaban, L. Zhang, E. A. C. Emanuelsson-Patterson, and B. James. 2014. “Quantification of Pizza Baking Properties of Different Cheeses, and Their Correlation with Cheese Functionality.” J. Food Sci. 79(8): E1528-E1534. doi: 10.1111/1750-3841.12540.
Article With Author/s Not Included
Anonymous. 1994. “Food Technology Editors Honored for Excellence.” Food Technol. 48(9): 17.Book
Rao, M. A. and S. S. H. Rizvi. 1994. Engineering Properties of Foods, 2nd ed. New York: Marcel Dekker.
Baldwin, C. J., ed. 2009. Sustainability in the Food Industry. Ames, Iowa: Wiley-Blackwell.Blog
Barclay, E. 2015. “Your Grandparents Spent More of Their Money on Food Than You Do.” The Salt, March 2. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2015/03/02/389578089/your-grandparents-spent-more-of-their-money-on-food-than-you-do.Bulletin/Government Report
GAO. 1994. Food Safety. Risk-Based Inspections and Microbial Monitoring Needed for Meat and Poultry. Rept. GAO/RCED- 94-110. General Accounting Office, Washington, D.C.Chapter in an Edited Book
Acton, J. C. and P. L. Dawson. 1994. “Color as a Functional Property of Proteins.” Chpt. 12 in Protein Functionality in Food Systems, edited by N. S. Hettiarachchy and G. R. Ziegler. New York: Marcel Dekker.Paper Presented at a Meeting or Conference
Jones, A. B. 2015. “The Gut Microbiome and Weight Management.” Presented at IFT15, Institute of Food Technologists, Chicago, July 11–14.Patent
Hine, W. S. 1994. Non-fat cheese sauce. U.S. patent 5,304,387.Press Release
NPD. 2006. “Convenience Trumps Health as the Driving Force Behind How America Eats.” Press release, Oct. 24. NPD Group, Port Washington, N.Y. npdfoodworld.com.Regulation
FDA. 1994. Proposal to Establish Procedures for the Safe Processing and Importing of Fish and Fishery Products. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Fed. Reg. 59: 4142–4214.Secondary Source
Carpenter, D. E. and S. Lee. 1993. “AOAC Methods and Determination of Fat.” The Referee (AOAC Intl.) 19(19): 1–9. Cited in J. W. DeVries and A. L. Nelson. 1994. “Meeting Analytical Needs for Nutrition Labeling.” Food Technol. 48(7): 73–79.
Survey/Report
HealthFocus. 2007. USA HealthFocus Trend Report. HealthFocus International, St. Petersburg, Fla. healthfocus.com.Thesis or Dissertation
Richburg, B. A. 1992. “Machine Vision Microscopy as an On-Line Sensor for Bioprocesses.” PhD thesis, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Unpublished Manuscript/Data/Letter
Batt, C. A. 1993. Unpublished manuscript. Dept. of Food Science, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
Fuller, J. F. Jr. 1995. Personal communication. Heinz U.S.A., Pittsburgh.Website
McDonald’s. 2014. “Getting to Know Us.” http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company.html.