image: Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Food Protection view more
Credit: Panagiotis N. Skandamis, PhD
London, August 4, 2022 – The International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), a leading organization of food scientists and food safety professionals, and Elsevier, a global leader in research publishing and information analytics, are delighted to announce a new partnership to publish the Journal of Food Protection (JFP), the flagship journal of IAFP. The journal will transition from a hybrid subscription model to a gold open access publication, making articles immediately and permanently available for everyone to read, download, copy, and distribute. It will be hosted on Elsevier’s industry-leading online platform, ScienceDirect, beginning January 2023.
The mission of IAFP is to provide food safety professionals worldwide with a forum to exchange information on protecting the food supply. According to IAFP, its decision to publish JFP with Elsevier was motivated in part by the Editorial Board’s desire to make its essential research open to all and to reach the widest audience across its entire community. This conversion to open access publishing aligns with IAFP’s core values by accelerating the pace of research and encouraging sharing and collaboration across disciplines.
“Following an exploration and consideration of our publication options, the IAFP Executive Board chose to work with Elsevier based on their extensive experience transitioning subscription journals to fully open access and the strength of their technological capabilities, including their well-known platform that will help increase the discovery and visibility of JFP content. This agreement will reduce the cost of open access publishing for both Members and nonmembers,” explained IAFP Executive Director, David Tharp.
Launched in 1937, JFP has a long and rich history as the premier journal dedicated to food safety for professionals from academia, industry, and regulatory authorities worldwide. Its global community of authors and readers recognizes the journal’s position as a high quality, authoritative voice for the publication of significant applied and fundamental research articles and review papers, for everyone, and by everyone. Its scope and coverage have evolved over the years to align with new developments in the field, from reporting on emerging scientific trends to providing state-of-the-art knowledge.
JFP will continue under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief Panagiotis N. Skandamis, PhD, Professor of Food Microbiology and Food Quality Control and Food Hygiene in the Agricultural University of Athens, who has been a Scientific Editor with the journal since 2018.
“The Editorial Board, the Scientific Editors, and I are tremendously excited for the opportunity to partner with Elsevier to publish JFP,” stated Professor Skandamis. “JFP has always been a team effort with valuable contributions from many active participants. Now, we will have additional support from Elsevier, a leading scientific publisher, as we join their family of esteemed journals. I am highly confident that this collaboration will further enhance the journal’s reputation and maintain the high standard of scientific contributions in the new era of food safety. On behalf of JFP’s editors, editorial staff, reviewers, and authors, I want to welcome our new partner.”
“We are delighted to welcome IAFP to Elsevier and add its prestigious journal to our food science portfolio,” commented Morgane Dagot, Publisher at Elsevier. “We recognize that Elsevier’s commitment to open science and experience transitioning journals to gold open access were key factors in IAFP’s selection. We look forward to working alongside the society and the journal to successfully navigate the transition to full open access status, expanding their global reach and supporting their mission to protect the world’s food supply.”
As one of the fastest-growing open access publishers in the world, nearly all of Elsevier's 2,700 journals enable open access publishing, including 600 fully open access journals. In 2021, Elsevier published 119,000 gold or pay-to-publish open access articles, an increase of more than 46% over 2020.