Get your Food Structure paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
4.3
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 11 August, 2026
Submitting to Food Structure goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Food Structure 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.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Food Structure. 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 Structure journal page before you draft.
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 Structure guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
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 Structure guide for authors before you submit.
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 journal's submission system.
| Element | Food Structure requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Concise and factual abstract not exceeding 250 words. Should briefly state the purpose of research, principal results, and major conclusions. Abstracts must be able to stand alone. Avoid references and non-standard or uncommon abbreviations. No specific structured format with mandatory headings specified; appears to be unstructured |
| Main text | Research papers (original full-length research papers) should not exceed 7,500 words. Review articles should normally focus on literature published over the previous five years and should not exceed 10,000 words |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | 1 to 7 keywords required for indexing purposes. Must be in English. Authors should avoid keywords consisting of multiple words (using 'and' or 'of') |
| References | APA style (American Psychological Association, 7th Edition, 2020). Citations in text follow APA referencing style. Reference list arranged alphabetically and then chronologically |
| Peer review | Single anonymized review (single-blind review). The submission is initially assessed by editors, then sent to a minimum of two reviewers for independent expert assessment |
| Submission | submit.elsevier.com/FOOSTR |
Read the Food Structure 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 Structure in under a page.
Skim two or three recent Food Structure 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 Structure journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Food Structure guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.