Before submitting a manuscript to Food Systems, Safety & Sustainability (FSSS), authors should confirm that all applicable requirements below have been satisfied. Submissions that are incomplete, outside the journal’s scope, insufficiently anonymised, or inconsistent with the journal’s ethical and formatting requirements may be returned before editorial assessment.

The corresponding author is responsible for completing the submission accurately and confirming that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the submitted materials.

1. Scope and Article Type

• The manuscript falls within the aims and scope of FSSS and makes a clear contribution to food systems, food safety, sustainability, resilience, governance, public health, technological innovation, or a closely related interdisciplinary field.
• The most appropriate article type has been selected.
• The manuscript complies with the recommended length, abstract, keyword, structure, and content requirements for the selected article type.
• The broader food-system significance of the study is clearly explained.
• The manuscript is scholarly and analytical rather than promotional, purely descriptive, or narrowly commercial.

2. Originality and Publication Status

• The submission is original and has not been formally published elsewhere.
• The manuscript is not currently under consideration by another journal, book, conference proceeding, or publishing platform.
• The submission does not substantially duplicate another manuscript by the same authors.
• Relevant preprints, conference papers, reports, theses, dissertations, datasets, protocols, or earlier versions have been disclosed to the Editorial Office.
• Any overlap with previously disseminated material has been appropriately cited and explained.
• The manuscript does not contain fabricated, falsified, plagiarised, manipulated, or improperly attributed material.

3. Authorship and Author Approval

• All listed authors meet the journal’s authorship criteria.
• Each author has made a substantial scholarly contribution to the work.
• All authors have reviewed and approved the submitted version.
• All authors have agreed to submission to FSSS.
• The order of authors has been approved by all authors.
• A corresponding author has been clearly identified.
• The corresponding author’s name, institutional affiliation, and email address are accurate.
• Author contributions have been described using the CRediT taxonomy or another sufficiently clear contributorship framework.
• Individuals who contributed to the work but do not qualify for authorship have been acknowledged appropriately.

4. Required Submission Files

The submission normally includes the following separate files:

• Title Page: containing author names, affiliations, contact details, ORCID identifiers where available, acknowledgements, funding information, conflicts of interest, authorship contributions, ethics information, and other identifying declarations.
• Anonymous Main Manuscript: containing the complete scholarly text without author names, affiliations, email addresses, acknowledgements, or other directly identifying information.
• Cover Letter: briefly explaining the contribution, originality, article type, and relevance of the manuscript to FSSS.
• Figures: supplied separately in suitable high-resolution formats where requested.
• Supplementary Materials: clearly named and described where applicable.
• Reporting Checklist: supplied where an established reporting guideline applies.
• Permissions Documentation: supplied for copyrighted or third-party material where required.

5. Double-Anonymous Review Preparation

• The anonymous manuscript does not contain author names or institutional affiliations.
• Acknowledgements, author contributions, funding details, and other identifying declarations have been removed from the anonymous file and placed on the title page.
• Self-citations are written in the third person and formatted in the same manner as other references.
• Expressions such as “our previous study” have been revised where they may identify the authors.
• Tracked changes, comments, revision history, and hidden author information have been removed.
• File names do not identify the authors.
• Document properties and embedded metadata have been checked and anonymised.
• Identifying institutional names, project names, ethics committee details, repository links, or acknowledgements have been anonymised where necessary for review.

6. Manuscript Format

• The main manuscript has been submitted in an editable Microsoft Word format, preferably .doc or .docx.
• The manuscript uses a readable font and consistent formatting.
• The main text uses approximately 11- or 12-point font.
• Line spacing is 1.5 or double.
• Standard page margins have been used.
• All pages are numbered consecutively.
• Continuous line numbering has been included where possible.
• Section headings and subheadings are clearly distinguished and consistently formatted.
• Unnecessary columns, text boxes, decorative formatting, manual spacing, and complex layout elements have been avoided.
• The manuscript has not been formatted to imitate the journal’s final typeset design.

7. Language and Presentation

• The manuscript is written in clear and professional English.
• British or American English has been used consistently.
• Spelling, grammar, punctuation, terminology, and capitalisation have been checked.
• Technical terms and abbreviations are defined at first use.
• Unnecessary jargon and excessive abbreviations have been avoided.
• Promotional, exaggerated, discriminatory, defamatory, or unsupported language has been removed.
• The manuscript has been carefully proofread before submission.

8. Title, Abstract, and Keywords

• The manuscript title is accurate, informative, concise, and consistent with the study design and content.
• The title avoids unnecessary abbreviations, promotional wording, and unsupported claims of novelty.
• The abstract complies with the length and structural requirements for the selected article type.
• The abstract clearly states the background, objective, methods, principal findings, conclusion, and wider relevance where applicable.
• The abstract does not contain citations, undefined abbreviations, or information absent from the main manuscript.
• Approximately four to eight relevant keywords have been supplied, subject to the requirements of the selected article type.
• The keywords support accurate indexing and are not merely a repetition of the title.

9. Manuscript Structure and Methodological Detail

• The manuscript is logically organised and appropriate to the selected article type.
• The Introduction identifies the research context, relevant literature, knowledge gap, objective, research question, or hypothesis.
• The methods are described in sufficient detail to permit scholarly evaluation and, where applicable, replication.
• The study design, setting, sample, materials, procedures, analytical methods, software, and quality-control measures are reported where relevant.
• The Results section presents findings clearly and without unnecessary duplication.
• The Discussion interprets the findings in relation to previous research and the wider food-system context.
• The limitations of the study are stated clearly and honestly.
• The conclusions and recommendations are supported by the evidence presented.
• No new evidence or analysis is introduced for the first time in the Conclusion.

10. Reporting Guidelines

• An internationally recognised reporting guideline appropriate to the study design has been followed where applicable.
• The relevant guideline is identified in the manuscript.
• A completed reporting checklist has been uploaded as a supplementary file where required.
• Relevant flow diagrams, protocols, registrations, or supplementary reporting materials have been included.

Applicable guidelines may include CONSORT, PRISMA, STROBE, COREQ, SRQR, ARRIVE, CARE, CHEERS, TRIPOD, STARD, SPIRIT, or appropriate discipline-specific standards.

11. Ethical Approval and Informed Consent

• Research involving human participants, personal data, biological samples, interviews, surveys, or identifiable information received appropriate ethical approval or exemption.
• The approving committee or institutional review board is identified.
• The approval or reference number is reported where available.
• The informed-consent procedure is described where applicable.
• Any waiver of ethical review or consent is explained and justified.
• Consent for publication has been obtained where an individual may be identifiable.
• Privacy, confidentiality, and data-protection requirements have been observed.

12. Animal Research

• Research involving animals received appropriate institutional or regulatory approval.
• The approving authority and approval number are reported where available.
• Animal welfare standards and applicable reporting guidelines have been followed.
• Species, strain, sex, age, sample size, housing, care, interventions, anaesthesia, analgesia, humane endpoints, and euthanasia methods are reported where relevant.
• Measures taken to minimise animal suffering are described.

13. Food Safety, Biosafety, and Hazardous Materials

• Research involving pathogens, toxins, allergens, genetically modified organisms, hazardous chemicals, biological agents, or other safety risks complied with applicable regulatory and institutional requirements.
• Relevant biosafety, laboratory, containment, transport, and risk-management procedures are described.
• Necessary approvals, permissions, and safety assessments were obtained.
• The manuscript does not disclose operational details that create an unreasonable food-safety, public-health, environmental, or biosecurity risk.

14. Data Availability and Research Materials

• A Data Availability Statement has been included.
• The statement explains whether and how supporting data can be accessed.
• Repository names, persistent identifiers, accession numbers, and links are supplied where applicable.
• Restrictions arising from privacy, confidentiality, ethics, law, security, commercial sensitivity, or third-party ownership are clearly explained.
• Supporting data, code, protocols, questionnaires, models, and analytical materials have been deposited in an appropriate repository where feasible.
• Deposited materials are sufficiently documented to support responsible reuse.
• Any licences or access conditions applicable to deposited materials are stated.

15. Funding and Competing Interests

• All sources of financial and material support have been disclosed.
• Official funder names and grant numbers are provided where applicable.
• The role of the funder in the study and publication process is stated.
• All relevant financial and non-financial competing interests have been disclosed.
• Employment, consultancy, patents, licences, stock ownership, advisory positions, institutional relationships, personal relationships, and editorial roles have been declared where relevant.
• Where no competing interests exist, the manuscript includes an explicit statement to that effect.

16. Artificial Intelligence Disclosure

• No artificial-intelligence system or large language model has been listed as an author.
• Substantive use of generative artificial intelligence has been disclosed where applicable.
• The disclosure identifies the tool used, the purpose of use, and the extent of human verification.
• All AI-assisted text, citations, calculations, code, analyses, translations, and images have been checked by the authors.
• The manuscript does not contain fabricated references, deceptive synthetic data, undisclosed AI-generated images, or unverified AI-generated claims.
• The authors accept full responsibility for all submitted content, including AI-assisted material.

17. Tables, Figures, and Equations

• All tables and figures are numbered consecutively and cited in the text.
• Each table has a concise and informative title.
• Each figure has a complete caption.
• Tables are editable and not supplied only as images.
• Figures are supplied at sufficient resolution for publication.
• Text, symbols, legends, axes, scales, and units remain legible at publication size.
• Colour combinations are accessible and do not rely solely on colour to communicate essential information.
• Tables and figures do not unnecessarily duplicate information in the main text.
• Image adjustment has not altered, removed, concealed, or fabricated scientific information.
• Equations are editable where possible and all symbols and variables are defined.

18. Third-Party Material and Permissions

• The authors own or have permission to use all figures, tables, photographs, maps, instruments, questionnaires, datasets, and other third-party materials.
• Permission documentation has been uploaded where required.
• Sources and copyright holders are acknowledged accurately.
• Licence restrictions relating to third-party material are clearly identified.
• Reproduced or adapted material is compatible with the intended publication licence.

19. Citation and Reference Style

• In-text citations and the reference list follow the PSG Author–Date Citation Format.
• Every source cited in the text appears in the reference list.
• Every entry in the reference list is cited in the manuscript.
• References are arranged alphabetically by the surname of the first author.
• Author names, publication years, article titles, journal titles, volume and issue numbers, page ranges, DOIs, URLs, and access details have been checked.
• DOIs are included where available.
• References are relevant, balanced, and appropriate to the manuscript.
• Retracted or corrected publications have been identified and treated appropriately.
• References have not been fabricated, manipulated, or generated without verification.
• Unnecessary self-citation and citation intended to influence metrics have been avoided.

20. Cover Letter

• A concise cover letter has been prepared.
• The cover letter identifies the manuscript title and article type.
• The principal scholarly contribution is summarised.
• The relevance of the manuscript to FSSS is explained.
• Originality and exclusive submission are confirmed.
• Related manuscripts, preprints, datasets, protocols, or prior dissemination are disclosed.
• Ethical approval, registration, consent, or special circumstances are identified where applicable.
• The cover letter does not contain exaggerated claims or requests for preferential treatment.

21. Supplementary Materials

• Supplementary files are directly relevant to the manuscript.
• Each supplementary file is clearly named and described.
• Supplementary materials are cited in the main text.
• Confidential, identifying, copyrighted, or sensitive material has not been included without appropriate authority.
• Supplementary data and files have been checked for completeness and accuracy.

22. Final Confirmation

Before completing the submission, the corresponding author should confirm that:

• all required files have been uploaded;
• the correct versions of all files have been submitted;
• the title page and anonymous manuscript are separate;
• all manuscript metadata entered into the submission system are accurate;
• author names and affiliations are entered consistently;
• the manuscript title and abstract entered online match the uploaded manuscript;
• all authors have approved the final submission;
• all declarations are complete and accurate;
• the current Article Processing Charge and waiver policy have been reviewed;
• the journal’s copyright and open-access licensing conditions have been reviewed; and
• the submission complies with the Author Guidelines and all applicable editorial policies.

Submission of a manuscript does not guarantee external peer review or publication. The editors may return incomplete submissions, request additional documentation, reclassify the article type, or reject manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s scholarly, ethical, methodological, or editorial requirements.