Journal profile · Food Science & Technology
Food Control
ISSN 0956-7135 · eISSN 1873-7129 · Elsevier BV · ENGLAND · Bimonthly · Founded 1990
Food Control: CAS Zone 1 · Agricultural & Forestry Sciences (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 6.93; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,340; review about 92 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); community-reported acceptance: 50%; 727 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Food Control is published by Elsevier BV and is in Zone 1 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Listeria monocytogenes in Food Safety, Food Safety and Hygiene and Meat and Animal Product Quality, together about 28.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Food Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
An official scientific journal of the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST).Food Control is an international journal that publishes manuscripts resulting from original scientific investigation into significant food safety and food quality concerns and preventative control measures that improve public health. Manuscripts submitted to this journal should document the problem of concern, proper hypothesis, experimental design, data analysis, and interpretation of the observed results, supported by relevant statistical analysis. The research should have an international scope, not limiting to local issues.The journal focuses on postharvest human food safety and quality issues and welcomes submissions related to the areas of interest listed below: Microbial contaminants and food safety - causes and control measures, including isolation, detection, and intervention methodsChemical and biochemical contaminants (mycotoxins included) - causes and control measures, including isolation, detection, and intervention methodsFood safety preventative control measures, including process development, HACCP, food safety objectives, quality assurance, and good manufacturing practicesFood safety risk assessmentCodes of practice, legislation and international harmonizationConsumer training and educationFood Authentication and TraceabilityThe scope of Food Control is comprehensive and includes original research papers, authoritative reviews, short communications, comment articles that report on new developments in food control, and position papers.The work described should be innovative either in the approach or in the methods used. The significance of the results either for the science community or for the food industry must also be specified. Contributions that do not fulfil these requirements will not be considered for review and publication.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Food Science & Technology
Editor-in-chief Ralf GreinerPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 9 in mainland China (about 17%); most named United States 13, Mainland China 9, Spain 6, Brazil 4, United Kingdom 3 (53 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Listeria monocytogenes in Food SafetyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology11.5%
- Food Safety and HygieneAgricultural and Biological Sciences9.9%
- Meat and Animal Product QualityAgricultural and Biological Sciences7.5%
- Identification and Quantification in FoodBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.9%
- Mycotoxins in Agriculture and FoodAgricultural and Biological Sciences6%
- Salmonella and Campylobacter epidemiologyAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.4%
- Microbial Inactivation MethodsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5%
- Essential Oils and Antimicrobial ActivityAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Food Science & Technology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Food Science & Technology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Agricultural & Forestry Sciences Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Agricultural & Forestry Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Food Science & Technology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 6.93LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 14.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 14.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.19LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.52LetPub ·
- h-index
- 103LetPub ·
- h-index
- 208OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 9,198OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 7.26OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 22.35%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 694LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 13,636 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 614 | 185 | 451 |
| 2025 | 727 | 196 | 4,337 |
| 2024 | 742 | 258 | 10,340 |
| 2023 | 589 | 218 | 12,230 |
| 2022 | 692 | 225 | 19,911 |
| 2021 | 861 | 242 | 29,011 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
Too few articlesOnly 1 articles from the last 24 months carry both submission and acceptance dates, too few for a median
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 3.3 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 50%LetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 45 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 92 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,340 / EUR 4,060 / GBP 3,470 / JPY 538,290 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,350 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 7,000 words
Article types accepted12, with length limits
- comment articlesComment articles not exceeding 2000 words.Length not stated
- editorialWord limits for each article type do not include references. Original high-quality research papers (preferably no more than 7000 words, including tables and ill…Length not stated
- major review articlesMajor review articles, up to 10,000 wordsLength not stated
- original high-quality research papersOriginal high-quality research papers (preferably no more than 7000 words, including tables and illustrations).Length not stated
- position papersAuthoritative position papers from expert groups are also welcome.Length not stated
- research paperWord limits for each article type do not include references. Original high-quality research papers (preferably no more than 7000 words, including tables and ill…main text ≤ 7,000 words
- reviewWord limits for each article type do not include references. Original high-quality research papers (preferably no more than 7000 words, including tables and ill…Length not stated
- review articleWord limits for each article type do not include references. Original high-quality research papers (preferably no more than 7000 words, including tables and ill…main text ≤ 10,000 words
- short communicationWord limits for each article type do not include references. Original high-quality research papers (preferably no more than 7000 words, including tables and ill…main text ≤ 3,000 words
- short communicationsShort communications of up to 3000 words (not including references), describing work that may be of a preliminary nature but which merits immediate publication.Length not stated
- short reviewWord limits for each article type do not include references. Original high-quality research papers (preferably no more than 7000 words, including tables and ill…main text ≤ 6,000 words
- short reviewsShort reviews on topical subjects, up to 6000 words.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1990
- ISSN
- 0956-7135
- Electronic ISSN
- 1873-7129
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Food Control
What CAS zone is Food Control in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Food Control is in Zone 1 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Food Science & Technology; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Agricultural & Forestry Sciences. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Food Control?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 6.93; CiteScore 14.7, h-index 208.
How long does peer review take at Food Control?
The publisher reports about 92 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of about 3.3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “50%”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Food Control?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 7,000 words. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Food Control based?
Of the 53 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 9 (about 17%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (13), Mainland China (9) and Spain (6). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Food Control?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Food Control is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Food Control open access, and what is the APC?
Food Control is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,340.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .