We are currently seeking original research articles, critical reviews, study reviews, short commentaries and
book reviews on all aspects of potato (Solanum tuberosum) composition, including nutrient composition of cultivated and wild potato
varieties, bioactive non-nutrients and anti-nutrients in potatoes; biodiversity and nutrition studies related to potatoes; seasonal and
geographic variability in composition; changes in nutrient content from preparation and processing; use of potato data, including nutritional
epidemiology, clinical research, agro-biodiversity, food security and food trade. Papers selected after peer-review will be included
in a highly visible, widely distributed Special Issue of the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis in recognition of 2008
as the International Year of the Potato. To submit a paper, please review the Guide for Authors and submit through the Elsevier
on-line system http://ees.elsevier.com/jfca. Please contact jfca@fao.org with any questions..
Guide for Authors
The Journal of Food Composition and Analysis is an official publication of the International Network of Food Data Systems -
INFOODS-of the United Nations University, and is sponsored by the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations. Eight issues are published each year.
The Journal of Food Composition and Analysis
publishes manuscripts on all scientific aspects of data on the composition of human foods, with particular emphasis on analytical methods;
actual data on composition of foods; studies on the manipulation, storage, distribution and use of food composition data; and studies
on the statistics, use and distribution of such data and data systems. The Journal's basis is nutrient composition, with increasing emphasis
on bioactive non-nutrient and anti-nutrient components.
A primary goal of the Journal is to provide sufficient description of the food
samples, analytical methods, quality control procedures and statistical treatments of the data to permit the end users of the food composition
data to evaluate the appropriateness of such data in their projects.
Research may be published as Original Research Articles,
Short Communications, Critical Reviews, Study Reviews, Reports or Commentaries, according to subject matter and presentation. Assignment
will be made by the Editorial Office, but author guidance is appreciated. Only original papers will be considered. Manuscripts are submitted
for review with the understanding that the same work has not been copyrighted, published, or submitted for publication elsewhere.
Review Process
A peer review system is used to ensure high quality of manuscripts accepted for publication. The Editor-in-Chief
and Editors have the right to decline formal review of the manuscript when it is deemed that the manuscript is 1) on a topic outside
the scope of the Journal, 2) lacking technical merit, 3) fragmentary and provides marginally incremental results, 4) is poorly written
or 5) is not innovative, or closely duplicates research previously published by the author. Manuscripts which meet the journal's criteria
for scope, relevance and scientific quality will be sent for peer review to at least two qualified reviewers, assigned by the Editor.
The review will be conducted against established criteria to determine technical quality. Reviewers each submit a recommendation regarding
the merit of the manuscript, but the Editor provides the final decision on acceptance of the paper for publication.
All manuscripts
for Journal of Food Composition and Analysis should be submitted online via the Elsevier Editorial System (http://ees.elsevier.com/jfca
).
Types of Papers
The following types of papers are published:
•Original Research Articles are complete
reports of original, scientifically sound research. They must contribute new knowledge and be organized as described in this Guide. Please
follow carefully the organization of the sections described in "Preparation of text files for online submission" (see below).
•Short
Communications are brief reports of scientifically sound research, but of limited scope (for example, limited number of samples analysed),
that contribute new knowledge. They may be preliminary reports of new findings, in which case the author is expected to publish complete
findings later in an article.
•Reviews are papers which provide an analysis of a scientific or applied field, which include
all important findings and bring together reports from a number of sources. There are two categories of reviews: Critical reviews
provide a comprehensive, extensive review of a topic and a thorough referencing of the relevant literature. Study reviews
provide an analysis of a selected number of published or unpublished studies.
Review articles may be invited by the Editor or the
Editorial Board. Alternatively, potential authors considering the preparation of a Review article should contact the Editor to suggest
the topic and its scope, providing an outline in the form of major headings and a summary statement. In any case, such articles are subject
to the normal processes of peer review and revision.
•Reports are papers presenting the results of an expert consultation,
or a scientific or regional committee, in the field of food composition and analysis.
•Commentaries are opinion pieces,
focused on some scientific or applied aspect of food composition. They are informative, and may link diverse disciplines or address difficult
implications or issues. Controversial commentaries are acceptable, as are ones expressing contrasting opinions. In most cases, these
will be invited, but suggestions and unsolicited submissions will be considered by the Editor.
•Symposium Papers are
special situations when a group of papers from a scientific meeting may be published together in a regular issue of the Journal of
Food Composition and Analysis. In addition, there are scientifically specialized conferences and symposia on food composition, of
two to three days duration, that may be published as a special issue or supplement. In all cases, the material must be original research
or up-to-the minute reviews, of high quality and importance to the food composition community. To obtain approval, the convenor of the
meeting, symposium or conference should contact the Editor outlining the symposium scope and the papers to be considered, with abstracts
if available. On receipt of this information, the Editor will determine suitability of the material for a focused regular issue or special
supplement. All manuscripts will be reviewed according to the Journal's standard review procedure.
Authors' Responsibilities
Submission of a paper implies that the work described has not been published previously and that it is not under consideration for
publication elsewhere. However, research that has been published in reports or proceedings with limited distribution, as an abstract
only, or as part of a published lecture or thesis, may be considered. Publication requires approval by all authors, and tacitly or explicitly
by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form,
in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the publisher. Persons cited as a source of personal communications
must approve such citation. Written authorization may be required at the Editor's discretion.
General Guidelines for all Submitted
Articles
Articles must be submitted in English. Authors whose native language is not English are strongly advised to have
their manuscripts checked by a colleague with fluency in technical writing in English prior to submission. English language help service:
Upon request, Elsevier will direct authors to an agent who can check and improve the English of their paper (before submission). Please
contact authorsupport@elsevier.com for further information.
Manuscripts (excluding tables and figures) should not
exceed 20 double-spaced pages.
The title should be limited to 15 words or 80 characters. The abbreviated running title
should contain no more than 50 characters. The name and contact details (address, telephone, fax numbers and email address) of the corresponding
author, to whom proofs and other correspondence are to be sent, should be clearly indicated. American or British spelling will be accepted
(e.g. "center" and "centre" are both acceptable); however, any one contribution should be consistent and maintain either American or
British style. Use generic names of chemicals whenever possible. Proprietary names and trademarks should appear only to identify the
source of the chemical and subsequently only the generic name should be used. Common abbreviations and acronyms should be unpunctuated
(e.g. HPLC, not H.P.L.C.).
The decimal point, not the decimal comma, should be used when reporting numeric data in tables
and text. Insert a zero in front of a decimal point when it applies. For instance, instead of .36 use 0.36. All numeric data must be
presented to an appropriate number of significant digits (for a discussion of significant digits in food composition data, see Greenfield,
H. and Southgate, D.A.T., 2003, Food composition data: Production, Management and Use, 2nd ed., FAO, Rome; in particular ch. 9 (pp. 163-170),
and Table 9.1. Download at http://www.fao.org/infoods/publications_en.stm.
The International System of Units (SI, Systeme
International d'Unites) or the SI-derived system should be used in reporting units of measurement, including dates in the format of year-month-day.
Energy should be given as kJ or MJ (equivalent kcal or Mcal may be given in parentheses). The Centigrade scale (C°) may be used for
temperature.
Actual analytical data should be reported. For example, report nitrogen in addition to a calculated protein
value, or define the nitrogen to protein ratio clearly under Materials and Methods and thereafter use protein. All factors used in calculations
(e.g. energy), and all components used in aggregations (e.g. retinol equivalents), should be specified. Carbohydrate reported as "Total
carbohydrate by difference" is not acceptable in Results or in tables; however , it may be used in discussions. Use of "crude fibre"
is discouraged.
Preparation of text files for online submission
The manuscript should be prepared in word processing
software (Word, Works, WordPerfect, Latex etc). It is preferable to use Times as the type font (size 12), with 2.5 cm (1 inch) margins
on all sides; use double spacing and one column. Automatic line numbering should be activated; it is best to select "continuous" so that
the lines are numbered continuously and do not begin over again at "1" on each new page.
When submitting your paper in EES, please
upload each figure file individually. Elsevier's preferred file formats are EPS, TIFF and PDF. MS Office file formats are only allowed
under certain conditions. Please remove individually uploaded figures and tables from your manuscript text file. Otherwise, each figure
will appear twice in your PDF file.
Please see below ("Graphics and artwork other than text") concerning file formats for figures and
artwork.
Files must be uploaded as document (.doc) files (or rich text format (.rtf) if using Microsoft Works); please do not submit
your files as PDF files (.pdf).
The abstract (200 words maximum) must briefly summarize major findings and conclusions. Do
not use statements such as "Results are discussed". Many abstracting services use abstracts without modification, so this section should
be able to stand alone and be comprehensible without the rest of the paper (do not refer to items in the reference list which will not
accompany the abstract in some instances).
A minimum of 6-10 keywords must be listed. Authors should bear in mind that keywords
allow the article to be found by Internet database search engines and considerably increase article citations when they are as numerous
and comprehensive as possible.
As a general guideline, reports of original research should be presented with sections identified
as Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions and References. In the Introduction, briefly review important
prior publications and state the reasons for the investigation that is being reported. Under Materials and Methods, describe and cite
where applicable sampling protocols, sample handling/preparation, and all experimental conditions and procedures (including quality control/quality
assurance procedures), with sufficient clarity to permit qualified researchers to repeat the work. This section must include the number/size
of samples collected, prepared and extracted, as well as number of analytical replicates per sample; and the statistical procedures/programs
used to assess the work should be cited. A minimum of three individual samples must be analysed for each reported mean value, along with
some indication of variability. When only one or two samples have been analysed, notwithstanding the number of replicates, authors should
present the normal precision of their assays and then report the mean (without a standard deviation). Data must be reported to the appropriate
number of significant digits for that precision and instrumental sensitivity. The data and the statistical interpretation should be presented
in the Results section. Authors may wish to combine Results and Discussion or Discussion and Conclusions in one section. In the Conclusions
section, important and novel aspects of the work should be summarized and suggestions for future research are appropriate.
Graphics
and artwork other than text
Authors are strongly advised to consult Elsevier's
artwork instructions before uploading any graphics files into EES. Please note that, in general, "live" files of figures
must be submitted (e.g. TIFF, EPS or PDF; there are some exceptions). Please use the very simplest grid model for tables (i.e. avoid
excessive formatting). The Elsevier website provides all necessary information for authors, and may also be contacted by e-mail at sqsartwork@elsevier.com.
Standards
All abbreviations, chemical names, and journal names should follow the style of Chemical
Abstract Service . A useful writing guide is Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors and Publishers,
Style Manual Committee Council of Biology Editors, 1994, 6th ed., Cambridge University Press.
References
Responsibility
for the accuracy of bibliographic citations lies entirely with the authors. The manuscript should be carefully checked to ensure that
the spelling of authors' names and dates are exactly the same in the text as in the reference list.
Please ensure that every reference
cited in the text is also present in the reference list at the end of the manuscript (and vice versa).
All citations in the text
should refer to:
1. Single author: the author's name (without initials, unless there is ambiguity) and the year of publication;
2. Two authors: both authors' names and the year of publication;
3. Three or more authors: first author's name followed by et al.
and the year of publication.
Citations may be made directly or parenthetically. Groups of references should be listed first alphabetically,
then chronologically. Examples: "as demonstrated (Allan, 1996a, b, 1999; Allan & Jones, 1995). Kramer et al. (2000) have recently
shown..."
References cited together in the text should be arranged chronologically. The list of references must be arranged alphabetically
on authors' names, and should be as full as possible, listing all authors, the full title of articles and full title of journals, publisher
and year.
Titles of periodicals mentioned in the list of references must be spelled out in full.
In the case of publications
in any language other than English, the original title is to be retained. However, the titles of publications in non-Latin alphabets
should be transliterated, and a notation such as "(in Russian)" or "(in Greek, with English abstract)" should be added.
References
concerning unpublished data and "personal communications" must not be cited in the reference list but may be mentioned in the text, giving
the full details (name and affiliation of the contact). References included in the reference list as "in press" should follow the standard
reference style of the journal and should include a substitution of the publication data with "in press". Citation of a reference as
"in press" implies that the item has been accepted for publication. In the final publication, material referenced as "submitted" is not
acceptable - if it cannot be referenced as "in press" then the text needs to be revised to state "unpublished results" and the reference
deleted from the reference list.
The following are examples of reference layouts. Please use a hanging indent (second and subsequent
lines indented).
Reference to a chapter in a monograph:
Maubois, J.-L., & Olivier, G. (1992). Milk protein fractionation.
In New applications of membrane processing (pp. 112-120). Brussels, Belgium: International Dairy Federation.
Reference
to a chapter in a book
De Kruif, C. G., & Holt, C. (2003). Casein micelle structure, functions and interactions. In P. F.
Fox, & P. L. H. McSweeney (Eds.), Advanced dairy chemistry, Vol. 1: Proteins (3rd ed) (pp.233-276). New York, NY, USA: Kluwer
Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Reference to an article in a journal:
Schakel, S. F., Harnack, L., Wold, C., Van Heel, N.,
Himes, J.H. (1999). Incorporation of trans-fatty acids into a comprehensive nutrient database. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 12, 323-331.
Note: If necessary, cite issue number if page numbering is not continuous.
Reference to a book
:
Marsh, D. (1990). CRC handbook of lipid bilayers. Boston, MA, USA: CRC Press.
Reference to a published standard
:
IDF (1982). Cheese and processed cheese-determination of total solids content. IDF Standard 4a. Brussels, Belgium: International
Dairy Federation.
Reference to a paper in published conference proceedings
:
Maubois, J. L. (1998). Fractionation of milk
proteins. In Proceedings of the 25th International Dairy Congress (Vol. II, pp. 74-86). Dairy Science and Technology: Aarhus,
Denmark.
Reference to a thesis
:
Alting, A. C. (2003). Cold gelation of globular proteins. PhD Thesis, Wageningen University,
The Netherlands. Note: The thesis should be publicly available.
U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. (2006). USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 18. Retrieved January 30,
2006 from the Nutrient Data Laboratory Home Page: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/.
When reporting results
of studies using nutrient databases, authors should cite and reference the database and/or software product with name, version number,
release date, and vendor.
Copyright
All authors must sign the 'Transfer of Copyright' agreement before the article can
be published (for more information on copyright see http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorsview.authors/copyright. This
transfer agreement enables Elsevier Ltd to protect the copyrighted material for the authors, but does not relinquish the author's proprietary
rights. The copyright transfer covers the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the article, including reprints, photographic
reproductions, microfilm or any other reproductions of similar nature and translations. It includes the right to adapt the article for
use in conjunction with computer systems and programs, including the reproduction or publication in machine-readable form and incorporation
in retrieval systems.
When quoting or borrowing from someone else's work or when considering reproducing an illustration or table
from a book or journal article, authors should make sure that copyright is not being infringed. Authors are responsible for obtaining
permission from the copyright holder to reproduce any figures for which copyright exists. Although in general an author may quote from
other published works, permission from the copyright holder should be obtained if substantial extracts are taken or if tables, plates,
or other illustrations are reproduced. If the copyright holder is not the author of the quoted or reproduced material, it is recommended
that the permission of the author be sought.
Material in unpublished letters and manuscripts is also protected and must not be published
unless permission has been obtained.
Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by Authors: contact Elsevier's Rights Department, Oxford,
UK: phone +44 (0)1865 843830, fax +44 (0)1865 853333, e-mail permissions@elsevier.com. Requests may also be completed
on-line via the Elsevier site http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissions.
Proofs
One set of page proofs in
PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author, to be checked for typesetting/editing errors. No changes in, or additions
to, the accepted (and subsequently edited) manuscript will be allowed at this stage. Proofreading is solely the author's responsibility.
A form with queries from the copy editor may accompany your proofs. Please answer all queries and make any corrections or additions required.
The Publisher reserves the right to proceed with publication if corrections are not communicated. Proofs are to be returned to the Log-in
Department using the e-mail address provided.
Offprints
The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a
PDF file of the article via e-mail or, alternatively, 25 free paper offprints. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published
article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use. If colour
used in figures has been paid for in an article, the author will receive a further 100 offprints at no extra charge. Offprints and copies
of the issue can be ordered at a specially reduced rate on the order form sent to the corresponding author with the acknowledgement letter,
after the article has been accepted and forwarded to Elsevier. Orders for reprints will incur a 50% surcharge.
Author Enquiries
Authors may use EES to track the progress of their papers. Authors can keep track of the progress of their accepted article, and
set up e-mail alerts informing them of changes to their manuscript's status, by accessing http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle.
Other questions or queries will also be dealt with via this website: http://authors.elsevier.com/locate/jfca. Contact details
for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided when an article is accepted for
publication.
DISCLAIMER
Articles and any other material published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis
represent the opinions of the authors and should not be construed to reflect the opinions of the Editors, INFOODS, United Nations University,
FAO, or the publishers. Any data included in articles on commercial foods are reported solely as factual information and are limited
to the samples analysed. No warranty or guarantee is made or implied that other samples of these products will have the same or similar
composition. The inclusion of such articles or data does not imply endorsement of any product.
Journal of Food Composition and
Analysis carries no page charges.
All enquiries may be addressed to: Journal of Food Composition and Analysis
AGNA-C242 FAO
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00153 Rome, Italy
Telephone: +39 06 5705 3065
Fax: +39 06 5705 4593
Email: jfca@fao.org
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