Food Systems, Safety & Sustainability (FSSS) requires authorship to represent genuine scholarly contribution, approval of the published work, and responsibility for its integrity.

Authorship provides academic credit but also carries legal, ethical, and scholarly responsibilities. Every listed author must satisfy the journal’s authorship criteria, approve the submitted and published versions, and accept accountability for the work. Individuals who contributed to the research but do not qualify for authorship should be recognised through an appropriate contributorship statement or acknowledgement.

1. Authorship Criteria

To qualify as an author, an individual must satisfy all four of the following criteria:

1. Substantial scholarly contribution
   The individual made a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work; or to the acquisition, generation, curation, analysis, or interpretation of data, evidence, materials, or other research resources.
2. Intellectual participation in the manuscript
   The individual drafted the manuscript or reviewed it critically for important intellectual content.
3. Approval of the final version
   The individual approved the version submitted to the journal and the final version accepted for publication.
4. Accountability
   The individual agrees to be accountable for their own contribution and for ensuring that questions concerning the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are investigated and resolved appropriately.

An individual who satisfies the first criterion should be given a reasonable opportunity to participate in manuscript drafting or critical review, final approval, and accountability. Authorship criteria must not be applied selectively to exclude a legitimate contributor.

2. Contributions That Do Not Alone Qualify for Authorship

The following activities do not, by themselves, justify authorship:

• obtaining funding without substantive intellectual participation;
• providing general institutional, administrative, or departmental supervision;
• holding a senior academic, managerial, political, or organisational position;
• providing laboratory space, routine equipment access, or general infrastructure;
• routine data collection without intellectual participation in the work;
• routine technical, laboratory, clerical, or administrative assistance;
• providing materials, samples, records, software, or datasets without further qualifying contribution;
• general mentorship or supervision unrelated to the substantive content of the manuscript;
• language editing, translation, proofreading, or formatting alone;
• payment of publication fees or other research expenses;
• professional status, institutional authority, or personal relationship with another author;
• participation in a project without substantial involvement in the submitted work; or
• being the owner, director, or principal investigator of the laboratory, institution, grant, or project.

Individuals providing these forms of support may be acknowledged where appropriate, provided that they have agreed to be identified.

3. Authorship Is Both Credit and Responsibility

Each author must:

• understand the principal purpose, methods, findings, and conclusions of the manuscript;
• be able to describe and defend their own contribution;
• identify which co-authors are responsible for other specific components of the work;
• have confidence in the integrity of the contributions made by the other authors;
• review the complete manuscript before submission;
• approve material revisions made during peer review;
• approve the final version accepted for publication;
• disclose relevant funding and competing interests;
• cooperate with reasonable editorial requests for clarification or supporting evidence;
• notify the journal promptly if a significant error or integrity concern is identified; and
• participate appropriately in the investigation and resolution of post-publication concerns.

Authors cannot avoid accountability by stating that they were responsible only for a limited part of the work. Although authors may have different specialised roles, all authors share responsibility for the integrity of the published article.

4. Author-Contribution Statement

Every manuscript must include an author-contribution statement describing the specific contribution of each author.

The statement should:

• use each author’s initials or full name consistently;
• identify the substantive roles performed by each author;
• distinguish intellectual contributions from technical or administrative support;
• reflect the work actually performed;
• be approved by all authors;
• be updated where contributions change during revision; and
• correspond with the final authorship list and author order.

The contribution statement will normally be published with the article.

5. CRediT Contributor Roles

FSSS recommends the use of the CRediT Contributor Role Taxonomy to describe individual contributions.

The fourteen CRediT roles are:

Contributor Role	General Description
Conceptualisation	Formulation or development of the principal research goals, questions, ideas, or theoretical framework.
Data Curation	Management, annotation, cleaning, documentation, preservation, and maintenance of research data or code.
Formal Analysis	Application of statistical, mathematical, computational, qualitative, economic, or other formal analytical techniques.
Funding Acquisition	Acquisition of financial support for the project leading to the publication.
Investigation	Conducting experiments, fieldwork, surveys, interviews, observations, data collection, or other research procedures.
Methodology	Development or design of research methods, models, protocols, instruments, or analytical approaches.
Project Administration	Coordination, planning, and management of research activities and project implementation.
Resources	Provision of materials, samples, instruments, facilities, participants, datasets, computing resources, or other research resources.
Software	Programming, software development, algorithm implementation, code testing, and maintenance of computational tools.
Supervision	Oversight, leadership, mentorship, and responsibility for research planning and execution.
Validation	Verification of results, experiments, models, analyses, reproducibility, or other research outputs.
Visualisation	Preparation, design, and presentation of figures, maps, diagrams, dashboards, and other visual representations.
Writing—Original Draft	Preparation and creation of the initial substantive manuscript.
Writing—Review and Editing	Critical review, revision, commentary, and improvement of the manuscript.

CRediT describes the roles performed by contributors; it does not independently determine who qualifies as an author. An individual may perform one or more CRediT roles without satisfying all four authorship criteria.

6. Contribution-Level Descriptors

Where appropriate, contributions may be described using the following optional levels:

• Lead: primary responsibility for the contribution;
• Equal: equal contribution with one or more other contributors; and
• Supporting: substantial supporting contribution.

These descriptors should be used only where they improve transparency and accurately reflect the work performed.

7. Example Contribution Statement

Conceptualisation: J.A.S. and H.K.L.; Methodology: J.A.S., H.K.L., and M.W.; Investigation: H.K.L. and M.W.; Data curation: M.W.; Formal analysis: J.A.S. and M.W.; Software: M.W.; Visualisation: H.K.L.; Writing—original draft: J.A.S.; Writing—review and editing: all authors; Supervision: H.K.L.; Funding acquisition: J.A.S. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript and accept responsibility for the integrity of the work.

Authors should replace this example with an accurate description of their own contributions.

8. Author Order

FSSS does not determine author order. The order of authors must be agreed by all authors before submission.

Author order may reflect:

• the relative scale of scholarly contribution;
• disciplinary convention;
• joint leadership;
• alphabetical order;
• a consortium or collaborative agreement; or
• another transparent and mutually accepted arrangement.

The corresponding author must confirm that all authors have approved the order. The journal does not assume that the first, last, or corresponding author necessarily made the greatest contribution unless this is stated in the contribution declaration.

9. Equal Contributions and Joint Senior Authorship

Authors may identify two or more individuals as having contributed equally where this accurately reflects the work performed.

Examples include:

• These authors contributed equally to this work.
• These authors jointly supervised this work.
• These authors share senior authorship.

Equal-contribution and joint-senior-author statements must be approved by all authors and must not be used merely to increase academic credit or obscure meaningful differences in contribution.

Where publication systems or bibliographic databases do not display equal-contribution information consistently, the journal cannot guarantee how external services will represent the designation.

10. Corresponding Author

At least one author must be designated as the corresponding author.

The corresponding author is responsible for:

• managing communication with the journal before and after publication;
• ensuring that all authors satisfy the authorship criteria;
• confirming that all authors approved the manuscript and its submission;
• ensuring that author names, affiliations, email addresses, and identifiers are accurate;
• coordinating disclosure of contributions, funding, competing interests, data availability, ethics approval, and AI use;
• disclosing related manuscripts, preprints, and prior dissemination;
• communicating editorial decisions and reviewer comments to all authors;
• coordinating revisions and obtaining co-author approval;
• reviewing and approving publication proofs;
• responding to reasonable requests concerning data, methods, or integrity; and
• keeping co-authors informed of post-publication correspondence.

Corresponding-author status does not grant unilateral authority to submit, revise, withdraw, or publish a manuscript without the knowledge and agreement of the other authors.

11. Multiple Corresponding Authors

The journal may recognise more than one corresponding author where this reflects a genuine division of responsibility.

One author must nevertheless be identified as the principal administrative contact during submission unless the journal’s platform supports multiple contacts.

The designation of multiple corresponding authors does not reduce the responsibilities of any corresponding author or guarantee that all indexing services will display every corresponding-author designation.

12. Guarantor Responsibility

For complex, multidisciplinary, multicentre, or collaborative studies, the authors may designate one or more guarantors who accept responsibility for the overall integrity of the work.

A guarantor should:

• have sufficient knowledge of the complete study;
• understand the principal data, methods, analyses, and findings;
• confirm that the research was conducted and reported appropriately;
• assist in resolving questions concerning integrity or reproducibility; and
• coordinate access to relevant records where reasonably required.

Designation of a guarantor does not remove the accountability of the other authors.

13. Group and Consortium Authorship

Research groups, consortia, networks, committees, and collaborative organisations may be identified as group authors where appropriate.

The submission must clearly distinguish:

• the name of the group or consortium;
• individuals who qualify as named authors;
• individuals who are group contributors but do not meet authorship criteria;
• the contribution of the group and its members;
• the individuals responsible for the integrity of the manuscript; and
• the corresponding author or authorised contact.

Where a consortium name appears in the author byline, the journal may require a complete membership list as a supplementary file or appendix.

Group membership alone does not establish individual authorship. Each named author must satisfy the authorship criteria.

14. Large Collaborative Teams

Large and multidisciplinary collaborations should establish authorship and contributorship arrangements at an early stage of the project.

The research team should document:

• the expected criteria for authorship;
• the process for determining author order;
• the expected contributions of each participant;
• the procedures for updating the author list;
• the responsibility for manuscript approval;
• the process for resolving disagreements; and
• the attribution of contributors who do not qualify as authors.

The final contribution statement must reflect actual rather than anticipated contributions.

15. Student, Trainee, and Early-Career Contributions

Students, doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers, trainees, research assistants, and early-career researchers must receive appropriate authorship credit where they satisfy the authorship criteria.

Supervisors and senior researchers must not:

• exclude a student or junior researcher who qualifies for authorship;
• claim authorship solely because of supervisory status;
• change author order through coercion or abuse of authority;
• prevent a legitimate contributor from reviewing or approving the manuscript;
• appropriate a student’s ideas, data, analysis, or writing; or
• require honorary authorship as a condition of supervision, employment, access, or approval.

Where a manuscript is substantially derived from a thesis or dissertation, the student or degree candidate should normally be included as an author and will frequently qualify as first author, subject to the actual contributions and applicable disciplinary conventions.

16. Community, Practitioner, and Non-Academic Contributors

Authorship is not restricted to individuals holding academic appointments or formal research qualifications.

Community researchers, farmers, food producers, practitioners, policymakers, industry professionals, civil-society representatives, Indigenous knowledge holders, technicians, and other non-academic contributors may qualify as authors where they satisfy all authorship criteria.

The journal encourages equitable recognition of substantive contributions and does not support exclusion based on employment status, academic rank, nationality, language, institutional affiliation, or professional background.

17. Indigenous and Community-Held Knowledge

Research involving Indigenous, traditional, local, or community-held knowledge should recognise relevant individual and collective contributions appropriately.

Authors should consider:

• community governance and consent arrangements;
• collective intellectual contributions;
• appropriate individual or group authorship;
• community-approved attribution;
• culturally appropriate acknowledgement;
• rights relating to data, knowledge, and biological resources;
• restrictions on disclosure or reuse; and
• benefit-sharing arrangements.

Conventional academic authorship practices must not be used to erase, appropriate, or misrepresent community contributions.

18. Professional Writing, Editing, Translation, and Statistical Assistance

Substantive assistance from professional writers, editors, translators, statisticians, data analysts, consultants, or technical specialists must be disclosed where relevant.

An individual providing such assistance should be listed as an author only where they satisfy all authorship criteria.

Otherwise, the individual or service should be acknowledged, and the acknowledgement should describe:

• the nature of the assistance;
• the name of the individual or organisation;
• the source of payment or funding; and
• any relevant competing interest.

Authors remain responsible for checking the accuracy, originality, confidentiality, and integrity of all material prepared or modified by a third party.

19. Artificial Intelligence and Authorship

Artificial-intelligence systems, large language models, chatbots, automated writing tools, and other non-human systems cannot be listed as authors or contributors with independent responsibility.

Such systems cannot:

• approve a manuscript;
• accept accountability;
• hold copyright or publication rights;
• disclose competing interests reliably;
• enter into publication agreements;
• respond to ethical or legal concerns; or
• take responsibility for errors or misconduct.

Substantive use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies must be disclosed in accordance with the journal’s AI and Research Integrity Policy.

Human authors remain fully responsible for all AI-assisted text, code, analyses, citations, translations, images, interpretations, and conclusions.

20. Acknowledgements

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not satisfy the authorship criteria should be recognised in the Acknowledgements section where appropriate.

Acknowledged contributions may include:

• technical assistance;
• laboratory assistance;
• fieldwork support;
• participant recruitment;
• administrative coordination;
• language editing or translation;
• statistical consultation;
• software or data-management support;
• access to facilities, samples, records, or equipment;
• community engagement;
• general supervision or mentorship;
• professional writing assistance; and
• other support not qualifying for authorship.

Authors should obtain permission before naming an individual in the acknowledgements because acknowledgement may imply that the individual endorses the work.

21. Author Names and Identity

Authors must provide accurate and consistent identifying information.

Each author should provide:

• their preferred professional name;
• their institutional affiliation or affiliations;
• the city and country of each institution;
• a valid email address;
• an ORCID identifier where available; and
• any other information reasonably required to verify identity or affiliation.

Authors must not:

• use a false or fabricated identity;
• misrepresent an institutional affiliation;
• use another person’s identity without authorisation;
• conceal authorship through a third-party agency;
• create misleading contact information; or
• use identity information intended to manipulate peer review, fees, eligibility, or editorial decisions.

Authors using a pseudonym for a legitimate safety, privacy, or professional reason should contact the Editorial Office before submission.

22. Institutional Affiliations

An author’s primary affiliation should normally identify the institution at which the principal work was conducted.

A current affiliation may also be included where the author moved after completing the research.

Affiliations must not be:

• invented or purchased;
• added solely to increase prestige;
• used without the institution’s legitimate relationship to the author;
• presented in a misleading manner; or
• altered to obtain an APC waiver, discount, or other benefit.

The journal may request institutional verification where an affiliation appears inaccurate, inconsistent, or unverifiable.

23. Deceased Authors

A deceased individual may remain or be included as an author where:

• they made a contribution satisfying the substantive authorship requirements before death;
• they participated in drafting or critical intellectual development of the work to the extent reasonably possible;
• the surviving authors confirm the accuracy of the contribution statement;
• the death is disclosed appropriately to the journal; and
• the remaining authors accept responsibility for final approval and post-publication communication.

The author’s death may be identified through an appropriate footnote or author note.

Where the individual died before reviewing the final manuscript, the surviving authors should explain the circumstances to the editor. Final inclusion will be determined according to the person’s contribution, the stage of manuscript preparation, and the need for accurate attribution.

24. Authors Who Become Incapacitated or Unavailable

Where an author becomes seriously ill, incapacitated, uncontactable, or otherwise unable to approve a revision or final version, the corresponding author must inform the Editorial Office.

The journal may request:

• an explanation of the circumstances;
• evidence of the individual’s prior approval or participation;
• confirmation from the other authors;
• institutional advice; or
• another reasonable form of documentation.

The journal will determine whether authorship can be retained without compromising accurate attribution or accountability.

25. Prohibited Authorship Practices

FSSS prohibits authorship arrangements that misrepresent contribution, consent, or responsibility.

Prohibited practices include:

• Gift authorship: adding an individual who made no qualifying contribution;
• Guest authorship: adding a prominent or influential individual to increase publication prospects or credibility;
• Honorary authorship: granting authorship because of status, authority, funding, supervision, or institutional position;
• Ghost authorship: omitting an individual who made a contribution qualifying for authorship;
• Purchased or sold authorship: adding, removing, or reordering an author in exchange for money, services, or another benefit;
• Coerced authorship: obtaining authorship through intimidation, authority, employment power, academic dependency, or pressure;
• Proxy authorship: listing a person who did not conduct or take responsibility for the work on behalf of another individual or organisation;
• Authorship trading: exchanging authorship positions across unrelated manuscripts;
• Authorship renting: temporarily associating a recognised researcher or institution with work they did not conduct;
• Fraudulent group authorship: using a consortium or group name to conceal the individuals responsible for the work; and
• adding or changing authors to obtain peer-review influence, institutional credit, immigration benefit, career advantage, or an APC waiver.

Suspected inappropriate authorship may result in suspension, rejection, correction, retraction, institutional notification, or another proportionate editorial action.

26. Author Confirmation at Submission

By submitting a manuscript, the corresponding author confirms that:

• all listed authors satisfy the journal’s authorship criteria;
• no qualifying author has been omitted;
• no unqualified individual has been included;
• all authors approved the manuscript and its submission;
• all authors approved the author order;
• the contribution statement is accurate;
• all affiliations and contact details are accurate;
• all authors have disclosed relevant competing interests;
• all authors agree to the journal’s copyright and licensing terms; and
• all authors accept responsibility for the integrity of the work.

The journal may contact individual authors directly to confirm authorship, approval, identity, affiliation, contribution, or responsibility.

27. Changes to Authorship before Acceptance

Requests to add, remove, replace, or reorder authors after initial submission must be submitted in writing before acceptance.

The request must include:

• the manuscript title and submission number;
• a detailed explanation of the proposed change;
• the reason the original author list was inaccurate or incomplete;
• an updated author-contribution statement;
• confirmation from every existing author;
• confirmation from every proposed author;
• confirmation from any author being removed;
• updated competing-interest and funding disclosures; and
• any additional documentation requested by the journal.

The journal may suspend peer review or editorial processing while the request is assessed.

An authorship change is not effective until it has been approved in writing by the Editorial Office.

28. Addition of an Author

A request to add an author must explain:

• the individual’s qualifying contribution;
• why the individual was omitted from the original submission;
• whether the contribution occurred before or after submission;
• whether the person reviewed and approved the revised manuscript; and
• whether the addition affects author order, funding, competing interests, or accountability.

An individual must not be added merely because they assisted with revisions requested by reviewers unless the resulting contribution satisfies all authorship criteria.

29. Removal of an Author

A request to remove an author must explain:

• why the individual no longer qualifies for authorship;
• whether the person agrees to removal;
• whether an authorship dispute exists;
• how the individual’s contribution will be recognised; and
• whether removal affects the integrity or accountability of the work.

The journal will not normally remove an author without that person’s written agreement unless there is reliable evidence that the name was added without consent, the identity is fraudulent, or an appropriate institutional determination supports removal.

30. Changes to Author Order

Requests to change author order must include written agreement from all authors and a clear explanation.

The journal may decline a request where:

• not all authors agree;
• the reason is unclear or inconsistent;
• the change appears to involve purchased or exchanged authorship;
• the change is intended to manipulate academic credit or fee eligibility;
• the contribution statement does not support the proposed order; or
• an unresolved institutional dispute exists.

31. Authorship Changes after Acceptance

Authorship changes after acceptance are permitted only in exceptional circumstances.

The journal may delay production while the request is assessed. The authors must provide the same documentation required for pre-acceptance changes together with an explanation of why the matter was not resolved earlier.

Authorship changes will not normally be accepted during proof correction merely as an administrative preference.

32. Authorship Changes after Publication

A published author list or contribution statement may be changed only through a formal correction or other appropriate post-publication notice.

The journal may require:

• written agreement from all affected authors;
• an institutional determination;
• revised contribution and competing-interest statements;
• confirmation of responsibility for the published work; and
• an explanation suitable for inclusion in the correction notice.

The original publication record will normally remain accessible, with the correction linked to the article.

Where an authorship problem is associated with fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, fraudulent identity, peer-review manipulation, or another serious integrity concern, correction of the author list alone may be insufficient. Additional editorial action may be required.

33. Authorship Disputes

Authors are expected to resolve authorship disagreements through open discussion and appropriate institutional procedures before submission.

Where a dispute arises, the journal may:

• pause editorial processing;
• request written statements from all parties;
• request contribution records or earlier manuscript versions;
• seek confirmation from the corresponding author or project leader;
• refer the matter to the relevant institution or research-integrity office;
• request a formal institutional determination;
• reject or administratively close the manuscript where agreement cannot be established; or
• take post-publication action where the article has already been published.

The journal is not normally able to adjudicate complex factual disputes concerning employment, supervision, ownership of data, relative contribution, or institutional authority. These matters are generally best investigated by the relevant institutions.

34. Documentation of Contributions

Research teams are encouraged to maintain records of:

• project roles and responsibilities;
• authorship discussions;
• author-order agreements;
• manuscript drafts and revisions;
• data, analysis, and code contributions;
• approval of the submitted manuscript;
• approval of revisions;
• approval of the final version; and
• changes in contribution or authorship.

Such records may assist the journal or an institution when an authorship concern arises.

35. Third-Party Agencies and Submission Services

Authors remain responsible for all actions taken by language-editing services, manuscript agencies, publication consultants, submission agents, research organisations, or other third parties acting on their behalf.

Third-party services must not:

• sell or arrange authorship positions;
• add individuals without their knowledge;
• conceal ghost writers or substantive contributors;
• fabricate identities, affiliations, contributions, or approvals;
• submit a manuscript without author authorisation;
• control correspondence through unauthorised email accounts;
• manipulate peer review;
• guarantee acceptance or publication; or
• alter the author list without approval from all authors and the journal.

Use of an agency does not reduce the responsibilities of the authors or corresponding author.

36. Commercial and Industry-Sponsored Research

Employees, contractors, professional writers, statisticians, and other contributors associated with a commercial sponsor must be identified accurately.

Authors must disclose:

• the sponsor’s role in the research;
• the sponsor’s role in manuscript preparation;
• professional writing or editorial assistance;
• payment for such assistance;
• data-access and publication restrictions;
• relevant employment or consultancy relationships; and
• patents, licences, products, or commercial interests connected with the work.

Professional writers who satisfy all authorship criteria must be included as authors. Those who do not qualify must be acknowledged, together with the source of payment.

37. Editorial Board Members and Journal Personnel as Authors

Editors, Editorial Board members, Guest Editors, reviewers, and publisher personnel may submit manuscripts to FSSS but receive no preferential treatment.

Where such an individual is an author:

• the manuscript must be handled by an independent editor;
• the author must not select reviewers;
• the author must not participate in the editorial decision;
• the author must not access confidential reviewer identities or internal deliberations;
• the conflict and recusal must be documented; and
• the published article should disclose the author’s journal role where relevant.

38. Authorship and Article Processing Charges

Authorship must not be altered to obtain an APC waiver, discount, institutional payment arrangement, or other financial benefit.

The corresponding-author designation, affiliation, country, and funding information must reflect the genuine research and authorship circumstances.

A waiver or discount may be withdrawn where:

• an author was designated solely to obtain financial assistance;
• an eligible affiliation was added inaccurately;
• available funding was concealed;
• the authorship list changed materially without disclosure; or
• the financial-assistance request contained false or misleading information.

39. Suspected Authorship Misconduct

Potential warning signs include:

• unexplained addition or removal of authors;
• frequent changes to author order;
• authors who cannot explain their contributions;
• authors who appear unaware of the submission;
• non-institutional or unverifiable contact information;
• inconsistent signatures or approvals;
• purchased, exchanged, or advertised author positions;
• undeclared professional writing assistance;
• senior individuals listed without an identifiable contribution;
• contributors omitted despite substantial intellectual involvement;
• corresponding-author changes associated with fee eligibility;
• substantial differences between contribution statements and available records; and
• third-party control of author communication.

The presence of a warning sign is not itself proof of misconduct. The journal may request clarification and supporting evidence.

40. Possible Editorial Actions

Where an authorship or contributorship concern is substantiated, the journal may:

• request correction of the author list or contribution statement;
• pause peer review or production;
• reject the manuscript;
• administratively close the submission;
• publish a correction;
• publish an expression of concern;
• retract the article where the concern materially affects integrity or responsibility;
• refer the matter to an institution, employer, funder, or research-integrity office;
• review related submissions or publications;
• restrict future submissions for a defined period;
• remove an individual from an editorial or reviewer role; or
• take another proportionate action necessary to protect the scholarly record.

An honest administrative error may be corrected without a finding of misconduct. Deliberate misrepresentation may require a more serious response.

41. Confidentiality and Fairness

Authorship concerns will be handled as confidentially and impartially as reasonably possible.

The journal will seek to:

• distinguish allegations from established findings;
• avoid premature public accusations;
• give affected individuals a reasonable opportunity to respond;
• manage editorial conflicts of interest;
• preserve relevant documentation;
• limit information sharing to individuals with a legitimate need to know; and
• take action proportionate to the available evidence.

Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed where institutional referral, legal compliance, public protection, or correction of the scholarly record requires disclosure.

42. Appeals

An author may request reconsideration of an authorship decision where they believe that:

• material evidence was overlooked;
• a factual error affected the decision;
• the published policy was applied incorrectly;
• an undisclosed conflict of interest affected the assessment; or
• the editorial action was disproportionate.

The appeal must identify the manuscript or article, state the specific decision being challenged, and provide relevant evidence.

Disagreement over relative contribution without new evidence is not normally sufficient to overturn a decision supported by all authors or a formal institutional determination.

43. Recommended Author Declaration

The following declaration may be included on the title page:

All listed authors satisfy the authorship criteria of Food Systems, Safety & Sustainability. Each author made a substantial contribution to the work, reviewed the manuscript critically for important intellectual content, approved the final version, and agrees to be accountable for the integrity and accuracy of the work. No qualifying contributor has been omitted, and no person who does not qualify for authorship has been included.

44. Recommended Contribution Template

Author Contributions: Conceptualisation: [initials]; Data curation: [initials]; Formal analysis: [initials]; Funding acquisition: [initials]; Investigation: [initials]; Methodology: [initials]; Project administration: [initials]; Resources: [initials]; Software: [initials]; Supervision: [initials]; Validation: [initials]; Visualisation: [initials]; Writing—original draft: [initials]; Writing—review and editing: [initials]. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

Roles that do not apply should be deleted. Additional explanation may be provided where the standard role names do not adequately describe the work.

45. Final Authorship Checklist

Before submitting a manuscript, the corresponding author should confirm that:

• every listed author satisfies all four authorship criteria;
• no qualifying contributor has been omitted;
• no gift, guest, honorary, proxy, purchased, or coerced author has been included;
• all authors have reviewed and approved the complete manuscript;
• all authors have approved the author order;
• the corresponding author has been authorised to submit the manuscript;
• the contribution statement accurately describes the work performed;
• CRediT roles have not been treated as automatic proof of authorship;
• all author names, affiliations, email addresses, and ORCID identifiers are accurate;
• equal-contribution or joint-senior-author statements are accurate;
• professional writing, editing, translation, statistical, or technical assistance has been disclosed;
• non-author contributors have been acknowledged appropriately;
• permission has been obtained from individuals named in the acknowledgements;
• all funding and competing interests have been disclosed;
• substantive use of artificial intelligence has been disclosed;
• all authors understand the journal’s copyright and licensing terms;
• all authors accept responsibility for responding to integrity concerns; and
• any proposed authorship change will be submitted to the journal for written approval.

46. Standards Informing This Policy

This policy is informed by internationally recognised guidance concerning responsible authorship and transparent contributorship, including:

• ICMJE: Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors;
• COPE Guidance on Authorship;
• CRediT Contributor Role Taxonomy; and
• Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.

Reference to an external standard means that it informs the journal’s policy. It does not imply membership, certification, endorsement, or formal affiliation unless separately stated and independently verifiable.

47. Contact

Questions concerning authorship eligibility, author order, contribution statements, group authorship, authorship changes, acknowledgement of contributors, or suspected authorship misconduct should be directed to the FSSS Editorial Office through the official contact information provided on the journal website.

Correspondence concerning an existing submission should include:

• the manuscript title;
• the submission identification number;
• the corresponding author’s name;
• a clear description of the request or concern;
• the current and proposed author lists where applicable;
• an updated contribution statement; and
• written confirmation from all affected authors.