Author Guidelines

AUTHOR GUIDELINES

Pro Food: Jurnal Ilmu dan Teknologi Pangan

ARTICLE SCOPE AND ELIGIBILITY

Pro Food publishes original research articles that make a clear scientific or technological contribution to food science and technology and its applications in the food industry.

The journal primarily considers experimental research involving measurable variables, clearly defined treatments or observations, appropriate controls or comparisons, adequate replication, and suitable data analysis.

The journal's scope includes food science, food technology, food chemistry, food microbiology, food biotechnology, food processing, food preservation, food packaging, food analysis and quality control, food safety, food additives, food and nutrition, functional foods, food product development, sensory evaluation, traditional food processing, postharvest technology, food quality and shelf-life evaluation, and food and agroindustrial technology.

Non-experimental, survey-based, consumer, socioeconomic, or qualitative studies may be considered when they demonstrate a direct and substantial scientific or technological contribution to food science and technology. Such studies must employ rigorous research methods, appropriate sampling, clearly described or validated instruments, suitable data analysis, and scientifically supported conclusions.

Manuscripts primarily addressing culinary history, cultural identity, traditional narratives, symbolic meanings of food, ethnography, gastronomy, culinary tourism, hospitality, promotion, or general socioeconomic aspects of food without a substantial contribution to food science and technology are outside the journal's scope.

The use of food or traditional cuisine as a research subject does not automatically establish eligibility for publication. Research questions, methods, measured variables, analysis, and conclusions must demonstrate clear relevance to food science and technology.

Manuscripts that do not meet these requirements may be rejected by the editorial team without external peer review.

GENERAL MANUSCRIPT REQUIREMENTS

Authors must prepare and submit original manuscripts using the official Pro Food Article Template in Microsoft Word format.

The main manuscript must be written in English, preferably U.S. English, while the title, abstract, and keywords must be provided in both English and Indonesian.

The manuscript must follow these formatting requirements:

• Font: Tahoma, 10 pt.

• Line spacing: 1.15.

• Alignment: Justified.

• First-line paragraph indentation: 0.5 inch.

• Abstract: Tahoma, 9 pt, single spacing.

• Measurement units: International System of Units (SI) or appropriate metric units.

• Tables and figures: Placed close to their first relevant discussion.

• Citations and references: APA 7th edition, prepared using reference-management software.

Footnotes should be avoided unless essential. Abbreviations must be defined at first mention, and scientific terminology must be used consistently throughout the manuscript.

The manuscript must contain the following sections in order:

1. English Title and Indonesian Title

2. Author Names and Affiliations

3. Abstract and Keywords (English)

4. Abstrak and Kata Kunci (Indonesian)

5. Introduction

6. Materials and Methods

7. Results and Discussion

8. Conclusion

9. Declaration

10. References

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all information is accurate, original, scientifically justified, and consistent with the journal's publication ethics policies.

TITLE

The title must be concise, informative, and accurately reflect the research subject, principal variables, or scientific contribution.

English and Indonesian titles must each contain a maximum of 20 words and should not include abbreviations.

The title should avoid unnecessary introductory phrases, overly general terms, and conclusions not adequately supported by the study.

AUTHOR NAMES AND AFFILIATIONS

All authors must be listed using their full names without academic or professional titles.

Each author must provide a complete institutional affiliation, including the study program or department, faculty, institution, city, and country.

The corresponding author must provide an active email address and contact information for editorial communication.

The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal throughout submission, peer review, revision, and publication.

All listed authors must have made substantial intellectual contributions to the research, approved the final manuscript, and agreed to be accountable for their contributions.

ABSTRACT

The manuscript must include both English and Indonesian abstracts, each containing 150–250 words and written as a single paragraph.

The English abstract must be written in italics, while the Indonesian abstract must use regular text. Both abstracts must use Tahoma 9 pt with single line spacing.

Each abstract must concisely describe:

1. The scientific background or research problem.

2. The objective of the study.

3. The principal materials and methods.

4. The main findings, including relevant quantitative results.

5. The conclusion and scientific contribution.

The abstract must be understandable independently of the main text and must not contain citations, unnecessary technical details, or unsupported claims.

Uncommon abbreviations should be avoided. Essential abbreviations must be defined at first mention.

KEYWORDS

Authors must provide three to five keywords in both English and Indonesian, placed below the corresponding abstracts.

Keywords must be arranged alphabetically and accurately represent the principal research topics, variables, materials, methods, or technologies.

Unnecessary repetition of words already appearing in the title should be avoided.

INTRODUCTION

The Introduction must establish the scientific context and justification for the research.

This section should include:

1. The scientific background and significance of the research topic.

2. The research problem and its relevance to food science and technology.

3. A concise and critical review of relevant previous studies.

4. Identification of the research gap.

5. The novelty or scientific contribution of the proposed research.

6. The research objectives.

The Introduction must be supported by relevant and recent scientific references, particularly original research articles.

Authors should critically synthesize previous findings rather than merely list earlier studies.

The final paragraph should clearly state the research objectives and, where appropriate, the research hypothesis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Materials and Methods section must provide sufficient information to evaluate the scientific validity, reliability, and reproducibility of the research.

The section should be organized into Materials and Methods subsections, with additional subheadings where necessary.

Materials

Authors must clearly identify the principal materials used in the research, including their specifications, sources, and relevant characteristics.

Descriptions should include, where applicable:

• The type, variety, origin, and source of food materials.

• The brand and manufacturer of commercial ingredients.

• The grade, purity, brand, and manufacturer of analytical chemicals.

• Relevant characteristics of biological materials, microorganisms, or other research samples.

Fresh agricultural materials should be identified by variety and source whenever relevant.

Commercial materials must be described sufficiently to allow appropriate scientific evaluation and reproducibility.

Methods

Research methods must be clearly explained, scientifically justified, and reproducible.

This subsection should include, where applicable:

1. Research design, location, and study period.

2. Experimental units, samples, treatments, and controls.

3. Sampling methods and selection criteria.

4. Number of treatments, replications, and observations.

5. Experimental or processing procedures.

6. Analytical methods and measured variables.

7. Equipment specifications, including brand, model, manufacturer, and country of origin for major instruments.

8. Statistical analysis, software, and significance level.

9. Relevant methodological references and modifications.

10. Sample-size justification, where appropriate.

Standard analytical methods, including recognized AOAC methods or other validated procedures, should be cited appropriately.

Any modifications to established methods must be clearly described.

The number of experimental replications must be distinguished from repeated measurements or analytical replicates.

Sensory Evaluation and Consumer Studies

Studies involving sensory evaluation or consumer testing must report:

1. The number and selection criteria of panelists or participants.

2. Whether panelists were trained, semi-trained, or untrained.

3. The sensory evaluation method and measurement scale.

4. Sample preparation, coding, presentation, and serving conditions.

5. The experimental design and procedures used to control potential bias.

6. The statistical methods used to analyze sensory data.

7. Relevant ethical approval or exemption and informed-consent procedures.

Claims concerning sensory acceptance, consumer preference, or product acceptability must be supported by an appropriate study design, justified sample size, and valid data analysis.

Survey-Based and Qualitative Research

Survey-based and qualitative research is eligible only when it contributes directly and substantially to food science and technology.

Authors must clearly describe the research approach, study context, sampling strategy, participant characteristics, data-collection instruments, analytical procedures, and methods used to establish research validity or credibility.

For qualitative research, relevant methodological information may include coding procedures, thematic analysis, triangulation, researcher reflexivity, and data saturation, where applicable.

Studies based primarily on historical narratives, culinary tourism, cultural symbolism, or promotional descriptions without measurable or substantiated scientific relevance are not considered suitable.

RESEARCH ETHICS

Research involving human participants, including sensory evaluation and consumer testing, must comply with applicable institutional and ethical requirements.

Authors must report the relevant ethics committee, approval or exemption information, and informed-consent procedures, as applicable.

When formal ethical approval is not required, authors must explain the institutional or regulatory basis for the exemption. Researchers must not assume exemption solely because a study is considered low risk.

Research involving animals must comply with applicable institutional and national animal welfare requirements.

Studies involving human consumption or sensory testing must also consider food allergies, dietary restrictions, participant safety, confidentiality, and voluntary participation.

Relevant ethical information must be reported in the Methods section and summarized in the Declaration section.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The Results and Discussion section must present findings objectively and interpret their scientific significance in relation to the research objectives.

Results must be consistent with the research design, methods, and variables described in the Materials and Methods section.

Quantitative data must be supported by appropriate statistical analysis, including measures of variability and statistical significance where relevant.

The discussion must:

1. Present and interpret the principal findings.

2. Explain observed trends, relationships, and differences.

3. Compare the findings with relevant previous studies.

4. Discuss the underlying scientific or technological mechanisms.

5. Explain unexpected or contradictory results.

6. Demonstrate the novelty and scientific contribution of the research.

7. Discuss relevant practical implications and study limitations.

The discussion must not merely repeat numerical results or describe tables and figures without scientific interpretation.

Scientific arguments must be supported by appropriate references.

Claims concerning nutritional value, functional properties, antimicrobial activity, processing effectiveness, sensory acceptance, food quality, shelf life, or food safety must be supported by relevant measurements and valid analysis.

Food-safety claims must not rely solely on traditional practices, sensory characteristics, acidity, or unsupported assumptions. Such claims must be supported by appropriate microbiological, chemical, physical, or toxicological evidence relevant to the stated conclusion.

Unsupported generalizations and conclusions exceeding the available evidence must be avoided.

CONCLUSION

The Conclusion must directly address the research objectives and summarize the principal findings.

It should clearly communicate the scientific contribution and relevance of the findings to food science and technology.

Recommendations for practical applications or further research may be included when supported by the results.

The Conclusion must be written in paragraph form without numbered lists, new data, new references, or unsupported statements.

DECLARATION

All manuscripts must include a Declaration section following the Conclusion.

The section must contain the following statements, as applicable, using the structure provided in the official Pro Food Article Template.

Author Contributions (Mandatory)

Authors must clearly describe each author's contribution to the research and manuscript preparation.

Contributions may include conceptualization, methodology, investigation, formal analysis, data curation, writing, review, editing, and supervision.

All authors must approve the final manuscript and accept responsibility for their respective contributions.

Funding (Mandatory)

Authors must disclose all financial support received for the research, including funding institutions and grant numbers, where applicable.

If no specific funding was received, authors should state:

"This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors."

Acknowledgement (Optional)

Authors may acknowledge individuals or institutions that provided technical assistance, research facilities, materials, professional services, or other contributions that do not qualify for authorship.

Permission must be obtained from individuals named in this section.

Conflict of Interest (Mandatory)

Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial interests that could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, the research, its interpretation, or publication.

If no competing interests exist, authors should state:

"The authors declare no competing interests."

Data Availability (Mandatory)

Authors must state whether the data supporting the research findings are publicly available, available upon reasonable request, or subject to justified restrictions.

Where data cannot be shared, authors must explain the relevant ethical, legal, confidentiality, or intellectual property restrictions.

Ethical Approval and Informed Consent (Where Applicable)

For studies involving human participants or animals, authors must provide relevant ethical approval or exemption details and informed-consent information, where applicable.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (Where Applicable)

Authors must disclose substantive use of generative artificial intelligence in manuscript preparation, data analysis, image generation, or other research-related activities, specifying the tools used and their purposes.

AI tools must not be listed as authors. Authors remain fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, integrity, and reliability of the manuscript.

Additional Information (Mandatory)

Authors must retain the Additional Information statement provided in the official article template, including the journal's information on reprints, reproduction permissions, and the publisher's neutrality regarding jurisdictional claims.

REFERENCES

Manuscripts must contain a minimum of 15 relevant references.

At least 80% of the references must consist of primary scientific research articles published in peer-reviewed journals within the last 10 years.

The remaining references may include relevant books, official scientific reports, recognized analytical standards, proceedings, and other authoritative sources.

Review articles may support general scientific discussions but should not replace relevant primary research.

References from Wikipedia, personal blogs, anonymous websites, unreliable sources, or unverifiable publications should be avoided.

All references must comply with the American Psychological Association (APA), 7th edition.

Authors must use reference-management software, such as Mendeley, Zotero, EndNote, or another reliable reference manager.

The reference list must:

1. Include only sources cited in the manuscript.

2. Be arranged alphabetically by the first author's surname.

3. Follow APA 7th edition consistently.

4. Include a DOI in URL format whenever available.

5. Use justified alignment and a 0.5-inch hanging indent.

6. Include one blank line between reference entries, as specified in the journal template.

Authors are responsible for verifying the accuracy of author names, publication years, article titles, journal information, volume and issue numbers, page ranges, and DOI links.

IN-TEXT CITATIONS

All in-text citations must follow APA 7th edition using the author–date system.

Citations may be presented in narrative or parenthetical form.

Every source cited in the manuscript must appear in the reference list, and every reference-list entry must be cited in the manuscript.

The designation "in press" may only be used for manuscripts that have been formally accepted for publication.

Authors must ensure that in-text citations and reference-list entries are consistent and complete.

WEB REFERENCES

Web sources should be limited to credible, authoritative, and scientifically relevant materials.

References to websites must follow APA 7th edition and include the responsible author or organization, publication or update date when available, document or webpage title, and URL.

Retrieval dates should be included when required under APA 7th edition, particularly for unarchived content designed to change over time.

A DOI must be provided whenever available for the cited publication.

REFERENCE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

The use of reference-management software is mandatory.

Authors must ensure that references are correctly imported, verified, and formatted according to APA 7th edition.

Automatically generated references must be checked carefully for missing information, inaccurate metadata, incorrect capitalization, and invalid DOI links.

MATHEMATICS AND EQUATIONS

All mathematical equations must be created using the built-in Microsoft Word Equation Editor.

Equations must use Cambria Math, 10 pt, and be centered.

Each equation must be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals in parentheses, with the equation number aligned to the right.

All variables, coefficients, symbols, and abbreviations must be clearly defined immediately after their first appearance.

Explanatory notes below equations must use Tahoma, 7 pt, as specified in the journal template.

Variables should be italicized, while vectors and matrices should be presented in bold where applicable.

Superscripts and subscripts must be formatted using the appropriate Microsoft Word functions.

TABLES

Tables must be presented as editable text, not images.

Each table must comply with the following requirements:

1. Tables must be numbered consecutively according to their first citation in the text.

2. Every table must be cited before appearing in the manuscript.

3. Table titles must be placed above the table, centered, and written in Tahoma 10 pt using title case.

4. Table contents must use Tahoma 10 pt with single line spacing.

5. Tables should be centered and placed close to the relevant discussion.

6. Only horizontal borders should be used; vertical borders and unnecessary shading must be avoided.

7. Tables should not be split across pages.

8. Statistical results must include suitable measures of variation, such as standard deviation (SD) or standard error of the mean (SEM), where appropriate.

9. The number of replications, statistical notation, significance levels, measurement units, and abbreviations must be clearly explained.

10. Explanatory table notes must use Tahoma 7 pt.

A blank line should separate each table from the surrounding paragraphs.

Data presented in tables should not be unnecessarily repeated in the main text.

FIGURES

Figures include graphs, photographs, diagrams, illustrations, micrographs, and other visual materials.

All figures must be numbered consecutively and cited in the text before they appear.

Figures must comply with the following requirements:

1. Figures must be centered and placed close to the relevant discussion.

2. Captions must appear below the figures.

3. Captions must use Tahoma 10 pt, sentence case, and centered alignment.

4. Captions must be written as editable text and must not be embedded within the image.

5. Graphs must be inserted in picture format rather than as embedded Microsoft Word charts to maintain consistent publication layout.

6. Statistical graphs must include appropriate error bars, such as SD or SE, where relevant.

7. All symbols, abbreviations, error bars, and statistical markers must be clearly explained.

8. Photographs and other raster images must have sufficient resolution for publication, preferably at least 300 dpi.

9. Figure labels must remain legible at the final publication size.

10. Maps must include relevant scale, orientation, and geographic information.

One blank line should separate figures from the surrounding paragraphs.

Authors must obtain appropriate permission for copyrighted figures, photographs, or other third-party materials.

MANUSCRIPT ORIGINALITY AND PUBLICATION ETHICS

Submitted manuscripts must present original research that has not been previously published and is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal.

Authors must comply with the journal's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement, including requirements concerning authorship, research integrity, ethical approval, data accuracy, conflicts of interest, and responsible use of artificial intelligence.

Plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, inappropriate image manipulation, and other forms of research misconduct are prohibited.

Manuscripts are subject to editorial screening and similarity assessment. Pro Food applies a preliminary similarity threshold of 15%, with results evaluated in context by the editorial team.

A similarity score alone does not determine whether plagiarism has occurred.

The editorial team reserves the right to request revisions, supporting documentation, or clarification, or to reject manuscripts that fail to meet the journal's scientific, ethical, or technical requirements.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

Authors must submit manuscripts through the Pro Food online submission system.

Before submission, authors must ensure that:

1. The manuscript meets the journal's Focus and Scope requirements.

2. The official Pro Food Article Template has been followed.

3. The manuscript contains all required sections and declarations.

4. All figures, tables, equations, and references meet the formatting requirements.

5. Ethical approval and informed-consent information are provided where applicable.

6. All authors have reviewed and approved the manuscript.

7. The manuscript complies with the journal's publication ethics and originality requirements.

Manuscripts that do not comply with these guidelines may be returned for correction or rejected during the initial editorial assessment.

Editorial Team

Pro Food: Jurnal Ilmu dan Teknologi Pangan

Faculty of Food Technology and Agroindustry

University of Mataram, Indonesia