Food and Function Template
Get your Food and Function paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
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How to Use the Food and Function Template | A Step-by-Step Guide
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 25 July, 2026
Submitting to Food and Function goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Food and Function guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
What is the Food and Function Template?
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Food and Function. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Food and Function journal page before you draft.
What's actually in a FF submission:
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Food and Function guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
What separates a clean submission from one that gets kicked back:
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Food and Function guide for authors before you submit.
What does this Food and Function Template include?
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through the RSC submission system.
Steps to Use This Template with Scispace Agent
- Click Start Writing on this page. The Scispace Agent prompt screen opens with the template loaded.
- Use the loaded template, or upload a version your group already uses for FF.
- Edit the prompt with your topic and article type, and note any requirement from the Food and Function guide for authors.
- Run the prompt. The agent drafts into the correct structure and reference style.
- Use View Outputs to verify required statements and formatting are present.
- Export and submit through the RSC submission system.
Food and Function Template Structure at a Glance
| Element | FF requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | The abstract is a single paragraph which should be around 50 to 250 words. It should be concise and easy to read with recognisable words and phrases, use familiar, searchable terms and keywords, set out the main objectives and results of the work, give the reader a clear idea of what has been achieved, emphasise (but not overstate) the potential impact of the research and why it is important (compared to other research in its field), and avoid including detailed information on how the research was carried out. No specific structured abstract requirements or headings by article type are mentioned. |
| Main text | Section order and length per article type |
| Declarations | Ethics, competing interests, funding, data as required |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Keywords should be used - familiar, searchable terms that can increase the chances of the article appearing in search results. No specific count or range is provided in the guidelines. |
| References | Vancouver style (not Harvard style). Use superscript numbers to show the reference source of statements in the text. The names and initials of all authors should be given in the reference. Journal articles should be cited in the form: A. Name, B. Name and C. Name, Article title, Journal Title, year, volume, page/article number(s), DOI [optional]. |
| Peer review | This journal offers transparent peer review as well as traditional, single-anonymised peer review (where reviewers are anonymous and author names and affiliations are known to reviewers). Authors can also choose double-anonymised peer review (where both the authors' and reviewers' identities are anonymous) during the submission process. |
| Submission | mc.manuscriptcentral.com |
Quick Tips for Using the Food and Function Template
Read the Food and Function guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Food and Function in under a page.
Best Practices
Skim two or three recent FF papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Food and Function journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Before You Submit: Final Check
Do one focused pass against the Food and Function guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the RSC submission system.
