Food Systems, Safety & Sustainability (FSSS) is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly journal published by Panorama Scholarly Group (PSG). The journal provides a platform for interdisciplinary research addressing the safety, resilience, governance, and sustainable transformation of food systems.

The journal's stated place of publication is Berlin, Germany. FSSS operates through an international digital publishing framework, with Panorama Scholarly Group supporting the technical infrastructure, administrative coordination, manuscript production, and digital publishing services associated with its editorial and publication activities. The place of publication should be distinguished from the locations of individual editors, reviewers, and publishing personnel.

Journal and Publisher Information

• Journal title: Food Systems, Safety & Sustainability
• Journal abbreviation: Food Syst. Saf. Sustain.
• Journal initials: FSSS
• Publisher: Panorama Scholarly Group (PSG)
• Place of publication: Berlin, Germany
• Publishing model: International, peer-reviewed, gold open access
• Publication frequency: Quarterly (March, June, September, and December)
• Journal platform: Panorama Scholarly Group Journals

Publishing Structure

FSSS operates through an internationally distributed editorial and publishing structure. Manuscript submission, initial editorial assessment, peer review where applicable, revision, production, publication, and post-publication communication are managed electronically through the journal's submission and publishing platform and its official editorial communication channels.

The journal does not require its editors, reviewers, authors, or production personnel to work from a single physical office. Editorial and publishing responsibilities are allocated according to their respective professional roles. Participants are expected to observe applicable requirements concerning confidentiality, research integrity, competing interests, data protection, and responsible scholarly communication.

Publisher Responsibilities

Panorama Scholarly Group provides organisational, administrative, technical, and production support for FSSS. Its publishing responsibilities encompass the following areas:

• Maintaining and supporting the journal's online submission and publishing platform.
• Providing administrative support for manuscript tracking, editorial coordination, and production workflows.
• Supporting copyediting, typesetting, publication preparation, and digital dissemination.
• Maintaining publication metadata and supporting the assignment and registration of persistent identifiers where applicable.
• Facilitating open-access publication and the implementation of applicable copyright and licensing conditions.
• Supporting digital preservation arrangements and the continued accessibility of published scholarly content.
• Maintaining accessible information concerning author-side publication charges and relevant publishing policies.
• Providing administrative support for procedures addressing corrections, retractions, expressions of concern, complaints, and appeals.
• Supporting the confidentiality, security, and integrity of editorial and peer-review workflows.

Division of responsibilities: The publisher provides the infrastructure and operational support necessary for journal publication. Academic evaluation, editorial judgement, and decisions concerning individual manuscripts remain the responsibility of the journal's authorised editors.

Editorial Responsibility

Responsibility for the scholarly content, editorial direction, and academic standards of FSSS rests with the journal's Editor-in-Chief and authorised editorial team. Editors are responsible for evaluating manuscripts and administering editorial decisions in accordance with the journal's published policies.

Manuscripts are assessed with reference to originality, methodological soundness, scholarly significance, research integrity, clarity of presentation, relevance to the journal's aims and scope, and compliance with applicable editorial and ethical requirements. The evaluation process follows the review arrangements appropriate to the relevant article category.

The publisher supports the journal's operational activities but must not improperly influence decisions concerning the acceptance, rejection, or revision of individual manuscripts. Editorial accountability remains with the authorised editorial leadership.

Editorial Independence

FSSS is committed to editorial independence. Manuscript evaluation and publication decisions must be based on scholarly and ethical criteria rather than commercial, financial, institutional, political, or personal interests.

Article Processing Charges, sponsorship arrangements, institutional partnerships, advertising, or other sources of publishing revenue do not guarantee acceptance and must not influence the integrity of peer review, editorial assessment, or final publication decisions.

Editors and reviewers are expected to disclose relevant competing interests. Where a conflict could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, impartial assessment, the affected individual must not participate in the relevant evaluation or decision-making process unless an appropriate and transparent conflict-management arrangement has been established under the journal's policies.

Open-Access Publishing

FSSS follows a gold open-access publishing model. Published articles are made freely accessible online immediately upon publication, without subscription charges, mandatory reader registration, paywalls, or journal-imposed access embargoes.

Unless otherwise expressly indicated, articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). The licence permits sharing, redistribution, adaptation, and reuse, including commercial reuse, subject to its terms and applicable third-party rights.

Authors retain copyright in their original work and grant the journal and publisher the non-exclusive publication rights necessary to reproduce, distribute, identify, preserve, and provide access to the published Version of Record. Further information is provided in the journal's Open Access Policy and Copyright and Licensing Policy.

Article Processing Charges

Accepted manuscripts may be subject to an Article Processing Charge (APC) in accordance with the journal's current published fee policy. Applicable charges, payment conditions, waiver arrangements, and exemptions are specified separately in the journal's Article Processing Charges policy.

Payment of an APC does not guarantee acceptance or publication and must not influence editorial assessment, peer review, or publication decisions. Any payment obligations and their timing are governed by the applicable published fee policy. Authors should review the relevant information before submission.

Publication Ethics and Research Integrity

FSSS is committed to responsible scholarly publication and the protection of research integrity. Its editorial framework addresses peer review, authorship and contributorship, competing interests, plagiarism, data availability, research involving humans or animals, ethical oversight, research misconduct, the responsible use of artificial intelligence, and post-publication editorial action.

Concerns relating to submitted or published material may require editorial examination, requests for supporting documentation, clarification from authors, consultation with relevant institutions, or other appropriate procedures. The response should be proportionate to the available evidence, the nature of the concern, and the journal's applicable published policies.

Where justified, editorial action may include correction, retraction, publication of an expression of concern, or other measures intended to maintain the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record. Complaints and appeals are addressed through the journal's established editorial procedures.

Publisher Neutrality

Panorama Scholarly Group maintains a position of neutrality regarding jurisdictional claims, territorial descriptions, institutional affiliations, maps, and geographical or political designations appearing in published scholarly content. The publication of such material does not, in itself, imply endorsement of a particular legal, political, or territorial position by the publisher.

The opinions, interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in individual articles are those of their respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of FSSS, its editors, Panorama Scholarly Group, affiliated institutions, or funding organisations. This statement does not remove the journal's responsibility to address substantiated concerns about published material under its editorial and ethical policies.

Disclaimer

FSSS, its editors, and its publisher seek to maintain appropriate standards of scholarly quality, editorial oversight, and publication integrity. Nevertheless, published research may be subject to limitations, uncertainties, or subsequent developments, and readers should critically evaluate information in light of the relevant evidence and professional context.

The journal and publisher do not independently endorse every interpretation, recommendation, product, service, organisation, method, policy, or commercial claim discussed in published articles. References to external websites and third-party resources do not imply endorsement of their contents.

Information published in FSSS should not be treated as a substitute for context-specific professional, scientific, medical, regulatory, or technical judgement where such expertise is required. Nothing in this disclaimer excludes or limits any responsibility that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under applicable law.

Contact

Questions concerning manuscript submission, peer review, editorial policies, publication status, published articles, or other journal-related matters should be directed to the FSSS Editorial Office using the official contact information provided on the journal's website.

Publisher information: FSSS is published by Panorama Scholarly Group, with Berlin, Germany identified as its place of publication. Journal-specific requirements concerning peer review, open access, copyright, publication charges, and research integrity are governed by the corresponding editorial and publishing policies.