Food Chemistry Formatting Requirements: Complete Author Guide

Food Chemistry uses a concise, unstructured abstract format.

• Word limit: 150 to 200 words for Research Articles
• Structure: Unstructured (single paragraph)
• Citations: Not allowed
• Abbreviations: Avoid unless universally recognized in food science
• Keywords: 4 to 6 keywords required, listed immediately after the abstract

The abstract should state the objective, describe the analytical or experimental approach, present the main findings with specific quantitative data, and indicate the practical significance for food science or the food industry.

Food Chemistry editors expect abstracts that include actual data. "Polyphenol content was significantly higher in the treated samples" won't pass. "Total polyphenol content increased from 24.3 to 41.7 mg GAE/g after enzymatic treatment (p < 0.01)" is the expected level of specificity.

Keywords should be specific and searchable. Avoid overly broad terms like "food" or "analysis." Use specific terms: "anthocyanins," "Maillard reaction," "supercritical fluid extraction," "HPLC-MS." Keywords are indexed by ScienceDirect and Scopus, so choosing the right terms directly affects discoverability.

Elsevier recommends avoiding keywords that duplicate words in the title, since the title is already indexed separately.

Highlights are mandatory for all Food Chemistry submissions. They're one of the most visible elements of your article on ScienceDirect.

Requirements:

• 3 to 5 bullet points
• Each point maximum 85 characters including spaces
• No abbreviations, no citations, no figure references
• Should convey key findings, not methods

Good examples:

• "Ultrasound increased phenolic extraction yield by 47%"
• "Three novel flavonoids identified in jackfruit peel extract"
• "Modified starch reduced oil uptake in fried foods by 35%"

Poor examples:

• "Results showed interesting trends in the data" (vague, no data)
• "HPLC-DAD analysis was performed on the samples" (describes method, not finding)

The 85-character limit per bullet point is strictly enforced by the submission system. Count every character including spaces and punctuation. Write your highlights last, after the paper is complete, so you can distill the actual findings rather than intended outcomes.

Highlights appear on the ScienceDirect article page above the abstract and are used in email alerts, recommendation engines, and social media posts. Well-written highlights measurably increase article views and citations.

Food Chemistry publishes online and in print, which affects figure requirements.

Figure specifications:

Chromatograms and spectra: Food Chemistry papers frequently include HPLC chromatograms, mass spectra, NMR spectra, and FTIR spectra. For chromatograms, label the peaks with compound identifications directly on the figure or with numbered annotations defined in the caption. Axis labels must include units. Time axes should specify minutes or seconds, not just "time."

Food images: Photographs of food samples, microscopy of food microstructure, and SEM images of food matrices are common. For photographs, include a scale reference (ruler, coin, or scale bar). For microscopy images, scale bars are required.

Table formatting: Elsevier standard. Three horizontal rules (top, header bottom, table bottom). No vertical rules. Table captions above the table. Footnotes use superscript lowercase letters. For large datasets, move to supplementary material.

Graphical abstract: Recommended (not mandatory). If included, it must be a single image at minimum 531 pixels high and 1328 pixels wide. It should visually summarize the study's approach and main finding. Graphical abstracts appear as thumbnails on ScienceDirect and in search results. Articles with graphical abstracts receive more clicks, so it's worth the effort.

Effective graphical abstracts for food chemistry papers often show the food source, the analytical/processing approach (as a simple diagram), and the key outcome (as a data highlight or structural formula).

Food Chemistry uses the standard Elsevier numbered reference style.

In-text citations: Numbers in square brackets, sequential by first appearance. Examples: [1], [1,2], [1-3]. Place citations before the period.

Reference list format:

[1] A.B. Author, C.D. Author, E.F. Author, Title of the article, Food Chemistry Volume (Year) Pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Key formatting details:

• Author names: Initials first, then last name (e.g., "A.B. Smith").
• Commas between authors.
• Journal titles abbreviated following ISO 4 (e.g., "Food Chem." for Food Chemistry itself).
• Volume in bold.
• Year in parentheses.
• DOIs strongly encouraged for all references.
• For books: include publisher, city, year, and pages.
• For standards and regulations: include the full standard number and title.

A field-specific detail: Food Chemistry papers regularly cite regulatory documents (EU regulations, FDA guidelines, Codex Alimentarius standards). These should be formatted as formal references with the issuing body, document number, title, and year.

No formal reference cap. Research Articles typically cite 30 to 50 sources. Review articles can exceed 100. Keep citations relevant. Padding with tangentially related papers is obvious to reviewers in this field.

Reference management software (Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote) with the Elsevier numbered style handles the formatting automatically. Verify that journal abbreviations are correct after export, as some software databases have outdated abbreviations.

Food Chemistry supports supplementary material published alongside the article on ScienceDirect.

Common supplementary content:

• Additional chromatograms, spectra, and analytical data
• Extended method details (extraction conditions, instrument parameters)
• Calibration curves and method validation data
• Additional statistical analyses (PCA plots, correlation matrices)
• Raw datasets (Excel, CSV)
• Sensory evaluation questionnaires

Supplementary items are cited in the main text as "Fig. S1," "Table S1," etc. Each needs a descriptive caption.

Supplementary material goes through peer review alongside the main manuscript. Maintain the same quality standard as the main text.

For large datasets, consider Mendeley Data (Elsevier's repository) or Zenodo. Cite the DOI in the paper. The submission system (Editorial Manager) limits individual file uploads to about 50 MB.

Data availability statement: Required for all submissions. Must specify where the data supporting the findings can be accessed.

These are the details that experienced Food Chemistry authors know:

Chemical nomenclature. Use IUPAC nomenclature for all chemical compounds. Common names can appear in parentheses after the first IUPAC name: "gallic acid (3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid)." This is especially relevant for polyphenols, flavonoids, and other phytochemicals where common names and IUPAC names differ substantially.

CRediT author statement. Mandatory. Submitted as a separate item in Editorial Manager, not embedded in the manuscript. Use CRediT taxonomy categories for each author.

Declaration of competing interest. Required with the exact Elsevier wording: "The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper."

Ethical statements. If sensory evaluation with human subjects was conducted, an ethical approval statement is required. Include the ethics committee name and approval number. If no human or animal studies were involved, you still need to acknowledge this in the submission system.

Units and analytical conventions. Use SI units throughout. Report concentrations consistently (mg/g, mg/kg, or mg/L). For antioxidant capacity measurements, specify the assay (DPPH, ABTS, ORAC, FRAP) and express results in appropriate units (e.g., micromol TE/g). Reviewers frequently reject papers that mix incompatible units or fail to specify assay conditions.

Statistical analysis. State the statistical software used, the tests performed, and the significance level. Food Chemistry reviewers expect proper statistical treatment. Report means with standard deviations, sample sizes, and p-values. Use letters (a, b, c) for post-hoc comparison groupings in tables. This superscript letter convention is standard in food science.

Moisture basis. When reporting compositional data, state whether values are on a fresh weight (fw), dry weight (dw), or wet weight basis. This is one of the most common reporting errors in food science papers and a guaranteed reviewer comment if missing.

Abbreviation usage. Define at first use in both the abstract and the main text. Common food chemistry abbreviations (TPC, TFC, DPPH, GAE, TE, DW, FW) should all be defined, even if they seem obvious. Don't assume the reader knows them.

1. Highlights character limit. Each bullet point must be 85 characters or fewer including spaces. This is the most common submission error.

1. Moisture basis specification. Always state whether compositional data is on fresh weight or dry weight basis.

1. CRediT statement as separate upload. Don't embed it in the manuscript. Upload separately in Editorial Manager.

1. Statistical grouping letters. Tables with mean comparisons should use superscript letters to indicate significant differences, not just asterisks.

1. Graphical abstract dimensions. If included, minimum 531 x 1328 pixels. Undersized images will be rejected by the system.