2006 in Review and the Year Ahead

Abstract

2006 was a momentous year for the Journal of Food Science. To start the year, a decision was made concerning page charges for JFS. Starting with manuscripts submitted by IFT members after January 1, 2007, there will be no page charge. This long-sought goal for the Journal was accomplished by having a renewed commitment to the journal from IFT, revamping subscription plans for non-members, and entering into a contract with Blackwell Publishing for journal production and distribution services. We expect that this policy decision will have an immediate and lasting effect on the impact factor as the best food science research gets published in JFS. Approximately mid-year, Manuscript Central, the electronic manuscript handling system for JFS, JFSE, and CRFSFS, migrated to version 3.0. After some adjustment pains, the system promises to be even better for authors, reviewers, and Associate and Scientific Editors. For 2006, the time from submission to acceptance for JFS was slightly under four months and the time from submission to posting was slightly less than 6 months. In another new development, the partnership with Blackwell greatly accelerated archiving JFS. Starting in January 2007, all the issues of JFS going back to its founding as Food Research in 1936 will be available on-line. Each of these improvements should result in an increase in the journal's impact factor. I do know that having outstanding authors, excellent reviewers, and dedicated Associate and Scientific Editors are all part of the equation affecting impact factor. With your input we will ensure that JFS remains the premier journal for food science research.