Food Systems, Safety & Sustainability (FSSS) is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal that publishes rigorous and interdisciplinary research addressing the safety, resilience, governance, and sustainable transformation of food systems. The journal aims to advance scientific understanding of the interactions among food production, processing, distribution, consumption, public health, environmental protection, technological innovation, and socioeconomic development.

FSSS recognises that contemporary food-related challenges cannot be adequately addressed within a single disciplinary framework. Food safety risks, climate change, biodiversity loss, resource constraints, supply-chain disruption, nutritional inequality, food waste, and technological change are interconnected issues requiring integrated scientific, policy, and practical responses. The journal therefore provides a platform for research that links food science with agriculture, environmental studies, public health, nutrition, engineering, economics, management, social science, and public policy.

The journal seeks to publish research that contributes to one or more of the following objectives:

• improving the safety, quality, integrity, and traceability of food and agricultural products;
• strengthening the resilience and sustainability of local, regional, and global food systems;
• reducing environmental pressures associated with food production, processing, distribution, and consumption;
• supporting equitable access to safe, nutritious, affordable, and culturally appropriate food;
• advancing evidence-based food policy, regulation, governance, and risk management;
• promoting responsible technological innovation across food and agricultural supply chains;
• reducing food loss and waste while supporting circular and regenerative food-system models; and
• facilitating interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral responses to emerging food-system challenges.

The scope of FSSS includes, but is not limited to, the following areas:

Food Systems and Transformation

• food-system structure, dynamics, transitions, and resilience;
• local, regional, national, and global food-system analysis;
• food security, food sovereignty, and equitable food access;
• urban, rural, and territorial food systems;
• alternative food networks and community-based food initiatives;
• food-system responses to climate, economic, political, and public-health shocks;
• just transitions and inclusive food-system transformation; and
• systems modelling, scenario analysis, and sustainability assessment.

Food Safety, Quality, and Risk

• biological, chemical, physical, and emerging food hazards;
• foodborne diseases and public-health surveillance;
• food toxicology, contamination, and exposure assessment;
• microbiological safety and antimicrobial resistance in food systems;
• food authenticity, adulteration, fraud, and integrity;
• quality assurance, quality control, and safety-management systems;
• risk assessment, risk communication, and risk governance;
• food inspection, regulation, standards, and compliance; and
• rapid detection, monitoring, and diagnostic technologies.

Sustainable Agriculture and Food Production

• sustainable, regenerative, climate-smart, and low-input agriculture;
• agroecology, biodiversity, soil health, and ecosystem services;
• water, land, energy, and nutrient management;
• sustainable livestock, aquaculture, and fisheries systems;
• precision agriculture and environmentally responsible production technologies;
• crop resilience, diversification, and adaptation to climate change;
• agricultural emissions, carbon management, and nature-positive production; and
• smallholder agriculture, rural livelihoods, and inclusive development.

Food Processing, Preservation, and Innovation

• sustainable food processing and manufacturing;
• food preservation, packaging, storage, and shelf-life improvement;
• clean-label, minimally processed, and resource-efficient products;
• novel foods, alternative proteins, and future food technologies;
• biotechnology, fermentation, and bio-based production systems;
• food formulation, product development, and process optimisation;
• life-cycle assessment of food products and processes; and
• energy, water, material, and waste efficiency in food manufacturing.

Supply Chains, Logistics, and Traceability

• food supply-chain design, management, transparency, and resilience;
• cold-chain systems, storage, transportation, and distribution;
• traceability, certification, auditing, and chain-of-custody systems;
• supply-chain disruption, vulnerability, and crisis management;
• digital platforms, blockchain, sensors, and Internet of Things applications;
• ethical sourcing, responsible procurement, and sustainable trade;
• short food supply chains and localised distribution systems; and
• food retail, food-service systems, and consumer-market interfaces.

Food, Nutrition, and Public Health

• food environments, dietary patterns, and population health;
• nutrition security, malnutrition, obesity, and diet-related disease;
• healthy and sustainable diets;
• food labelling, nutrition information, and consumer decision-making;
• public-health nutrition interventions and food-based policies;
• food access, affordability, inequality, and vulnerable populations;
• cultural, behavioural, and social dimensions of food consumption; and
• connections among diet, health, climate, and environmental sustainability.

Food Policy, Economics, and Governance

• food and agricultural policy analysis;
• food regulation, legislation, and institutional governance;
• international food standards and regulatory harmonisation;
• political economy of food systems;
• food prices, markets, trade, and value-chain development;
• corporate responsibility, accountability, and sustainability reporting;
• public–private partnerships and multi-stakeholder governance;
• food ethics, rights-based approaches, and social justice; and
• policy evaluation, implementation, and institutional reform.

Food Loss, Waste, and Circularity

• measurement, prevention, and reduction of food loss and waste;
• food redistribution, donation, and surplus-food management;
• by-product recovery, valorisation, and industrial symbiosis;
• circular bioeconomy and closed-loop food systems;
• composting, anaerobic digestion, and bioresource recovery;
• sustainable packaging and packaging-waste reduction;
• consumer behaviour relating to food waste; and
• policy and business models supporting circular food systems.

Digitalisation and Emerging Technologies

• artificial intelligence and machine learning in food systems;
• big data, predictive analytics, and decision-support systems;
• remote sensing, robotics, automation, and smart agriculture;
• digital food-safety monitoring and early-warning systems;
• smart packaging, biosensors, and real-time quality assessment;
• digital twins and systems simulation;
• technology governance, ethics, transparency, and data responsibility; and
• social, economic, and environmental impacts of food-system digitalisation.

Climate, Environment, and Resource Sustainability

• greenhouse-gas emissions and climate impacts of food systems;
• climate adaptation and mitigation across food supply chains;
• water, energy, land, and material footprints;
• pollution, ecosystem degradation, and biodiversity impacts;
• environmental life-cycle assessment and footprint methodologies;
• sustainable consumption and production;
• planetary health and food-system boundaries; and
• nature-based solutions and ecosystem restoration linked to food production.

FSSS welcomes original research articles, review articles, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, perspectives, policy analyses, methods papers, data papers, case studies, short communications, and other scholarly contributions consistent with the journal’s editorial policies. Interdisciplinary, comparative, international, and regionally grounded studies are particularly encouraged.

Submissions should present a clear contribution to knowledge and demonstrate relevance to food-system safety, sustainability, resilience, governance, innovation, or public well-being. Manuscripts that address only narrowly technical questions without explaining their broader food-system significance may fall outside the journal’s scope.