Journal of Food Science and Technology is a food professional journal supervised by the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, sponsored by Beijing Technology and Business University, and edited by Professor Sun Baoguo, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Publishing a research article in a peer-reviewed journal has multiple roles, one of which is validating, documenting, and preserving the results of the research. Therefore, the authenticity and reliability of the results of the study are very important. Publishing an academic research paper involves many aspects, including authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers, all of whom play an important role in the publishing process. As a result, authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers alike have a responsibility to meet the expected standards of ethical conduct for publication at all stages of the manuscript from submission to publication.
In order to meet the standards of ethical conduct for publication at all stages of the publishing process, the journal pays close attention to the ethical standards or codes of practice of relevant industry associations, and updates our standards of ethical conduct for publication from time to time. These trade associations include, but are not limited to, the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) [1], the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICJME) [2], and the World Association of Medical Editors, WAME) [3], et al.
Here are the main expectations of the journal for editors, reviewers, and authors.
1 Moral expectations
1.1 Editorial Responsibilities
Editors are expected to adopt a balanced, objective and impartial code of conduct in the performance of their duties, and shall not adopt policies that discriminate against contributors on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, political opinions, race and national origin.
Manuscripts for funded supplements or albums are processed in the same way as other manuscripts, and manuscripts are accepted solely on the basis of their academic merit and not on commercial interest.
When complaints involving academic ethics arise, editors are expected to follow the prescribed procedures and relevant policies to deal with them. Regardless of when the original publication was published, any complaints from authors will be handled appropriately and responded to reasonably. All documentation related to such complaints will be kept securely.
1.2 Reviewer Responsibilities
By reviewing manuscripts in a timely and objective manner, it can provide reference for the decision-making process and help improve the academic quality of the paper.
Any information provided by the editor or author should be confidential, and reviewers should not divulge this information without permission, and should not keep copies of the manuscript. During the paper review process, it is forbidden to upload papers and supplementary materials to publicly available generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) platforms, and use GenAI as a tool to submit review comments and revise papers. When reviewers question the author's use of GenAI in the paper writing process, they should report it to the editorial office and explain the reasons in the review comments. If a manuscript under review is found to be similar to a published article or a manuscript under review elsewhere, the editor must be informed immediately.
If the reviewer and the author may have interests in economic, institutional, collaborative research or any other aspects, please inform the editors of the journal and refrain from reviewing the manuscript if necessary.
1.3 Authors Responsibilities
The journal is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scientific record. Possible misconduct will be handled in accordance with the COPE Guidelines.
To maintain the integrity of your research results, follow the rules of good scientific practice, including: 1) no more than one manuscript submitted, 2) the paper has not been previously published anywhere (in part or in full) Except where the new manuscript involves an extension of previous work, please provide copyright permission for reused material and apply correct citation to avoid suspicion of self-plagiarism;3) Please do not split a complete research work into multiple manuscripts and submit them to multiple journals or one journal;4) Please do not fabricate data, including modifying images, to support your conclusions;5) Do not plagiarize other people's data, Texts or theories, for unavoidable repetitive words or pictures, please correctly index the source literature, and the pictures need to obtain the publisher's publication permission certificate;6) The journal has used the plagiarism checking software (CNKI-Academic Misconduct Literature Detection System for Scientific and Technological Journals) for original detection;7) The content of the manuscript has been agreed by all other co-authors and their institutions before submission, 8) all authors of the manuscript have made full contributions and are collectively responsible for the research results, 9) GenAI cannot be used to write the whole paper or important parts of the paper (e.g., research methods, results, interpretation and analysis of results, etc.). All content that falls within the scope of scientific contributions or intellectual labor should be completed by the author. If the main content of the paper is completed using GenAI, the editorial office will deal with it as academic misconduct, and 10) the author shall be fully responsible for all the content of the paper, including the part completed with the assistance of GenAI. If the author uses GenAI in research and paper writing, he or she should openly, transparently, and in detail the use of GenAI (including the name and version of the GenAI tool, the time of use, and the method of the text) after the text, before the references, or in the methodological part of the text. The use process, if necessary, to mark the auxiliary generated content involving facts and opinions), the review of GenAI (e.g., the author has reviewed and edited the content generated by GenAI, and assumes full responsibility for the authenticity and accuracy of the content of this article). It is recommended that authors submit and archive the parts (texts, figures, programs, etc.) assisted by GenAI as supplementary materials so that reviewers and editors can judge the originality of the paper.
1.4 Copyright
Authors' copyright should be limited to those who have made substantial contributions to the work, and each author should be responsible for the data and arguments mentioned in the manuscript.
Authors must obtain permission from all authors before submitting versions of the paper and any changes to authorship.
In addition, changes in authorship or author order are not accepted after the manuscript peer review has been accepted. Requests to add or remove authors during the revision phase or after publication are a serious issue and will only be considered after receiving written permission from all authors and detailing the role of new/removed authors. The decision to accept changes rests with the journal editorial office, and authors should submit relevant documentation to verify the legitimacy and validity of the request. Documentation can be in the form of raw data, samples, or related records.
1.5 Conflict of Interest Statement
Authors must declare all relationships or interests that may influence or favor the manuscript. Although authors may not feel conflicted, the declaration of relationships and interests provides a more transparent process that allows for an accurate and objective evaluation of the manuscript. The right of the reader to know all the interests or conflicts associated with the research does not mean that the economic relationship between the research work and the institution in question is inappropriate. Examples of potential conflicts of interest that are directly or indirectly related to research include, but are not limited to, the following:1) Participation in seminars and remuneration, 2) Participation in seminars through financial support, 3) Funding for education or training, 4) Career guidance or counseling, 5) Funding support, 6) Holding a position on an advisory board or board of directors or other type of management position, 7) Multi-unit employment relationships, 8) Financial relationships, such as equity or investment interests, 9) Intellectual property rights, such as patents, 10) Spouses and children who have a financial interest in the research work.
In addition, non-financial interests that are relatively important to the reader must be declared, including, but not limited to, personal relationships or competitive interests that are directly or indirectly related to this research, or that may affect the professional interests or personal beliefs of the author's research. The content of the statement of interest will be reflected in the article, see the example below.
Funds: The research was funded by X (grant number X).
Conflict of interest: Author A has received a research grant from Company A. Author B has received a speaker's honorarium from Company X and owns shares in Company Y. Author C is a member of Committee Z.
If there is no conflict, the following is an example of a declaration.
Conflict of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.
1.6 Informed Consent
All those involved in the trial of the dissertation have the right not to be violated. Each participant has the right to know how their personal data or picture (identifiable) will be represented in the final thesis. Therefore, all participants should give informed consent in writing before data or images are included in the manuscript. Participant's identification details (name, date of birth, ID number, and other information) should not appear in the text section or pictures of the final paper, except for information that is necessary for the content of the manuscript research and for which the participant has given informed consent.
In some cases, complete anonymity is difficult. Informed consent should be obtained if in doubt. For example, covering the eye area in a participant's photo is an adequate protection for anonymity. If identifying characteristics, such as genetic characteristics, are altered in order to protect anonymity, the authors should ensure that these changes do not distort the scientific significance.
The informed statement should include the following statements:
Informed consent: "Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants in the manuscript. ”
If the manuscript provides information about the identity of the participants, it should include the following statement:
"All personally identifiable information in this article has been informed consent from all individual participants. ”
2 Procedures for dealing with unethical behavior
2.1 Identification of Unethical Conduct
Anyone can identify misconduct and unethical behavior at any time and bring it to the attention of editors and publishers.
Any notification of misconduct and unethical behavior to the editor or publisher shall provide sufficient information and evidence to enable an investigation. All allegations should be taken seriously and dealt with in the same manner until a final decision or conclusion is reached.
2.2 Surveys
Editors should make an initial decision for misconduct and unethical behavior or consult their publisher for advice. Editors should gather evidence while avoiding spreading any allegations beyond the needs of those who need to know.
2.3 Minor Violations
For minor misconduct, editors can deal with it immediately without the need for a broader consultation. However, the offending party should be given an opportunity to respond to any allegations.
2.4 Serious Violations
Serious misconduct may require notification to the head of the defendant's unit. The editor, in consultation with the publisher, as appropriate, should decide whether to involve the head of the defendant's unit through the available evidence or further consultation with a small number of experts.
2.5 Decisions (low to high severity， can be used alone or in combination)
1) Notify authors or reviewers of their violations of guidelines or misunderstandings.
2) A more strongly worded letter to the author or reviewer about misconduct and as a warning for future behavior.
3) Publish an official statement detailing the misconduct.
4) An official letter to the person in charge of the author's or reviewer's affiliation or funding agency.
5) Formally withdraw the relevant manuscript from the publication, and notify the person in charge of the author's or reviewer's institution, and notify the relevant abstract indexing database and the readers of the publication.
6) Individuals who violate the rules are prohibited from contributing for a specific period of time.
7) Report the case and outcome to a professional organization or parent body for further investigation and action.
[1] https://www.publicationethics.org/
[2] www.icmje.org
[3] https://www.wame.org
