Focus and Scopes

The Journal of Food Innovation, Nutrition and Environmental Sciences (JFINES) publishes peer-reviewed scholarly work in food science, food technology, nutrition, agricultural sciences, environmental sciences, and related interdisciplinary fields.

The journal welcomes original and methodologically sound research that contributes to knowledge, practice, innovation, policy, and sustainable development in food, nutrition, agriculture, environment, and linked applied sciences. JFINES particularly encourages studies that address real-world challenges in food systems, nutrition outcomes, environmental sustainability, food safety, postharvest management, value addition, and responsible use of natural resources.

JFINES considers original research articles, review articles, short communications, case studies, and other scholarly contributions that fall within the journal’s scope.

1. Food Science, Technology and Innovation

JFINES publishes research on food science, food technology, food processing, food preservation, product development, food quality, food safety, and innovation across food systems. The journal is interested in studies that improve the safety, nutritional value, quality, shelf life, sustainability, accessibility, and acceptability of food products.

Relevant areas include, but are not limited to:

·         Food Processing and Preservation: Research on methods for maintaining food quality, improving shelf life, reducing spoilage, and enhancing food safety. This may include thermal processing, drying, fermentation, refrigeration, freezing, high-pressure processing, modified atmosphere packaging, and other emerging or established preservation technologies.

 

·         Food Product Development and Value Addition: Studies on the development, optimisation, and evaluation of food products, including products based on local, underutilised, indigenous, or alternative raw materials. This includes value addition, formulation, product stability, quality evaluation, and consumer acceptability.

 

·         Food Safety and Quality Assurance: Research on food safety hazards, microbial contamination, chemical contaminants, risk assessment, food hygiene, quality control systems, food standards, quality assurance, traceability, and methods for detecting or reducing risks in the food supply chain.

 

·         Food Chemistry and Food Microbiology: Studies on the chemical, biochemical, physicochemical, and microbiological properties of foods and food ingredients. This includes work on food composition, nutrient stability, antioxidants, enzymes, fermentation, spoilage organisms, pathogens, and beneficial microorganisms.

 

·         Food Packaging and Sustainable Packaging: Research on packaging materials and systems that support food safety, quality, shelf-life extension, environmental sustainability, and consumer protection. This includes biodegradable packaging, active packaging, intelligent packaging, edible coatings, and packaging from renewable or waste-derived materials.

 

·         Food Engineering and Processing Technologies: Studies on engineering principles and technologies applied to food production, processing, storage, drying, extraction, separation, thermal operations, process optimisation, and scale-up.

 

·         Sensory Evaluation and Consumer Science: Research on sensory quality, consumer acceptability, product perception, food choice, consumer behaviour, market preferences, and cultural factors influencing food use and acceptance.

 

·         Sustainable Food Production and Processing: Studies on resource-efficient food processing, reduction of food losses, sustainable production methods, alternative proteins, circular economy approaches, low-waste processing, and innovations that reduce the environmental burden of food systems.

2. Nutrition Science and Public Health Nutrition

JFINES publishes research on human nutrition, dietary practices, nutrition-sensitive interventions, food and nutrition security, public health nutrition, and the relationship between diet, health, and wellbeing. The journal welcomes studies involving individuals, households, communities, institutions, and populations.

Relevant areas include, but are not limited to:

·         Nutritional Epidemiology: Studies examining dietary patterns, nutrient intake, food consumption, and associations between diet and health outcomes across populations. This may include research on undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight, obesity, non-communicable diseases, and other diet-related conditions.

 

·         Public Health Nutrition: Research on nutrition interventions, nutrition education, community nutrition, school feeding, maternal and child nutrition, adolescent nutrition, food assistance, dietary behaviour change, nutrition policy, and programmes designed to improve population nutrition outcomes.

 

·         Clinical and Therapeutic Nutrition: Studies on the role of nutrition in disease prevention, disease management, recovery, rehabilitation, therapeutic diets, special dietary needs, and nutrition support in clinical or community health settings.

 

·         Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism: Research on nutrient metabolism, nutrient interactions, micronutrients, macronutrients, gut microbiota, biomarkers of nutritional status, and biochemical mechanisms linking diet to health.

 

·         Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals: Studies on foods, food components, bioactive compounds, probiotics, prebiotics, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and other food-derived substances with potential nutritional or health-related benefits.

 

·         Food and Nutrition Security: Research on household food security, dietary diversity, food access, food availability, affordability, livelihoods, food environments, vulnerability, and resilience in relation to nutrition outcomes.

 

·         Dietary Assessment and Food Composition: Studies on dietary intake assessment, food frequency questionnaires, 24-hour recalls, food records, food composition analysis, nutrient profiling, and validation or adaptation of dietary assessment methods.

 

·         Nutrition, Culture and Behaviour: Research on cultural, social, economic, behavioural, and environmental influences on food choices, feeding practices, dietary habits, and nutrition-related decision-making.

3. Environmental Sciences and Sustainability

JFINES publishes research on environmental sciences where the work is relevant to food systems, agriculture, nutrition, natural resources, sustainability, public health, or community livelihoods. The journal particularly welcomes studies that examine the environmental dimensions of food production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste management.

Relevant areas include, but are not limited to:

·         Sustainable Agriculture and Agroecology: Research on farming systems, agroecology, organic agriculture, regenerative practices, soil health, biodiversity, sustainable intensification, integrated farming systems, and environmentally responsible agricultural production.

 

·         Climate-Smart Agriculture and Climate Adaptation: Studies on climate change adaptation, climate resilience, greenhouse gas reduction, climate-smart technologies, drought management, water-use efficiency, and agricultural responses to climate variability.

 

·         Food Waste Management and Waste Valorisation: Research on food loss and waste reduction, waste recovery, by-product utilisation, composting, recycling, circular economy approaches, conversion of agricultural and food processing waste into useful products, and environmental management of organic waste.

 

·         Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Footprints: Studies assessing the environmental impacts of food production, processing, distribution, consumption, packaging, and waste disposal. This may include life cycle assessment, carbon footprint, water footprint, energy use, land use, and other sustainability indicators.

 

·         Water, Soil and Natural Resource Management: Research on sustainable management of water, soil, forests, wetlands, and other natural resources in relation to food production, agriculture, livelihoods, environmental health, and ecosystem services.

 

·         Environmental Health and Food Systems: Studies examining links between environmental conditions, food safety, nutrition, agriculture, public health, contamination, sanitation, pollution, and community wellbeing.

 

·         Biodiversity, Agroforestry and Ecosystem Services: Research on biodiversity conservation, agroforestry, ecosystem services, pollination, soil conservation, landscape management, and the role of ecological systems in supporting sustainable food and agricultural production.

4. Interdisciplinary Food, Nutrition and Environment Studies

JFINES encourages interdisciplinary research that connects food, nutrition, agriculture, environment, health, policy, economics, and society. The journal welcomes studies that integrate methods, theories, or evidence from more than one discipline to address complex food and environmental challenges.

Relevant areas include, but are not limited to:

·         Sustainable Food Systems: Research on food system transformation, sustainable diets, food environments, food supply chains, food policy, food access, food affordability, food culture, and the interaction between nutrition, sustainability, and livelihoods.

 

·         Food-Energy-Water Nexus: Studies on the links between food production, water resources, energy use, environmental management, and resource efficiency.

 

·         Food Security and Livelihoods: Research integrating agriculture, nutrition, economics, environment, and social sciences to understand and address food insecurity, vulnerability, resilience, and livelihood outcomes.

 

·         Circular Economy in Food and Agriculture: Studies applying circular economy principles to food systems, including resource recovery, waste reduction, by-product utilisation, sustainable packaging, closed-loop systems, and low-waste production.

 

·         Policy, Governance and Systems Analysis: Research on policies, regulations, institutional arrangements, governance systems, and programmes affecting food systems, nutrition, agriculture, environment, and sustainability.

 

·         Sociocultural Dimensions of Food and Nutrition: Studies examining the cultural, social, ethical, gender, equity, and behavioural dimensions of food production, food access, dietary choices, traditional foods, and nutrition practices.

 

Types of Manuscripts Considered

JFINES considers the following manuscript types:

  • Original research articles;
  • Review articles, including systematic, scoping, narrative, and critical reviews;
  • Short communications;
  • Case studies;
  • Methodological papers relevant to the journal’s scope;
  • Policy or practice analyses, where these are evidence-based and scholarly;
  • Special issue articles and themed collection articles.

All submissions must be original, clearly written, ethically conducted, methodologically sound, and relevant to the journal’s focus and scope.

Types of Submissions Not Considered

To maintain the journal’s scope, quality, and editorial standards, JFINES does not normally consider the following types of submissions:

Out-of-Scope Manuscripts

Manuscripts that do not clearly relate to food science, food technology, nutrition, agricultural sciences, environmental sciences, sustainable food systems, or related interdisciplinary areas are not considered suitable for the journal.

Studies in areas such as pure chemistry, physics, general biology, clinical medicine, engineering, economics, education, or social sciences may be considered only where they have a clear and substantive connection to the journal’s scope.

Previously Published or Duplicate Work

JFINES does not consider manuscripts that have been published previously, whether in full or in substantial part, in another journal, book, conference proceeding, repository with formal publication status, or other publication outlet.

The journal does not accept redundant publications, duplicate submissions, or manuscripts that reproduce previously published data without substantial new analysis, interpretation, or scholarly contribution.

Manuscripts Under Consideration Elsewhere

Manuscripts submitted to JFINES must not be under review or consideration by another journal at the same time. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submission is not being considered elsewhere.

Manuscripts with Insufficient Methodological Quality

Manuscripts may be declined if they have serious methodological weaknesses, insufficient data, unclear study design, inadequate analysis, unsupported conclusions, or insufficient description of methods to allow proper evaluation.

Incomplete or Poorly Prepared Manuscripts

Manuscripts that are incomplete, poorly structured, difficult to understand, or missing essential sections may be returned to authors before review or declined after editorial screening. Authors are encouraged to follow the journal’s author guidelines before submission.

Ethical or Legal Concerns

JFINES does not consider manuscripts involving plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, inappropriate image manipulation, undeclared conflicts of interest, authorship disputes, unethical research practices, or other forms of publication misconduct.

Research involving human participants, animals, or sensitive data must include appropriate ethical approval, informed consent where applicable, and compliance with relevant institutional, national, and international guidelines.

Promotional or Commercial Content

The journal does not publish manuscripts that are primarily promotional, advertorial, or written mainly to market a product, service, organisation, technology, or commercial interest. Research involving commercial products may be considered only where it is scientifically justified, transparently reported, and free from inappropriate promotional language.

Unsolicited Opinion Pieces or Editorials

JFINES does not normally accept unsolicited opinion pieces, editorials, or commentaries unless they are evidence-based, relevant to the journal’s scope, and invited or approved by the editorial team.

Manuscripts Not Following Submission Guidelines

Manuscripts that do not follow the journal’s formatting, referencing, ethical declaration, or submission requirements may be returned to authors for correction before editorial assessment. Serious or repeated non-compliance may lead to rejection without external review.

Scope Clarification

Authors who are unsure whether their manuscript fits the journal’s scope are encouraged to contact the editorial office before submission. A brief inquiry should include the manuscript title, abstract, keywords, and a short explanation of its relevance to JFINES.