Stephen Oliver on the Success of Foodborne Pathogens & Disease
Journal Interview: June 2010
According to a recent analysis of Essential Science IndicatorsSM from Clarivate the journal Foodborne Pathogens & Disease is having a growing impact in the field of Agricultural Sciences.
The journal's current record in this field includes 329 papers cited a total of 1,156 times between its founding in 2004 and February 28, 2010.
Foodborne Pathogens & Disease is published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Its founding and current Editor-in-Chief is Dr. Stephen Oliver of the University of Tennessee's Food Safety Center of Excellence.
Did you expect Foodborne Pathogens
and Disease to become highly cited, or is this surprising to
you?
Yes, I expected Foodborne Pathogens & Disease to be highly cited, but I must admit I did not expect things to happen so rapidly! Foodborne Pathogens & Disease fills a significant void in the universe of journals because itis the only scientific peer-reviewed journal that focuses exclusively on foodborne pathogens and diseases caused by these important pathogens.
Currently, peer-reviewed scientific papers on the topic of food safety are diffused throughout the literature in a variety of different journals, many of which are very broad in scope. Hence, many important findings are often overlooked; this new journal integrates these previously segregated areas of research (i.e., public health, food safety, medical, agricultural, veterinary, food microbiology research) into one source.
How would you account for the high citation rate of Foodborne Pathogens and Disease?
Foodborne Pathogens & Diseasehas helped bridge the gap between science and instituting policy to reduce the burden of foodborne illness worldwide. Foodborne Pathogens & Disease communicates significant research advances from around the globe and across the many disciplines that contribute to food safety.
The journal's Editorial Board is composed of renowned scientists and public health officials from some of the leading universities and regulatory agencies involved in food safety in the US, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Not only do members of the Foodborne Pathogens & Disease Editorial Board actively participate in the rigorous review of papers submitted to the journal, they also publish results of their research in this journal.
In addition, the journal has published special issues on topics of high interest to its readers. For example, thematic issues on "National and International PulseNet Programs" published in 2006 showcased the international bacterial DNA "fingerprinting" electronic network established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA, to facilitate rapid recognition and investigation of foodborne disease outbreaks.
Another thematic issue published in 2008 on "the application of 'Omics' technologies for food safety research" highlighted recently introduced molecular methods that are critically important for rapid diagnostics and typing of foodborne pathogens and for understanding their complex behavior patterns in food systems.
More recently, a thematic issue on "On-farm strategies to reduce foodborne pathogen contamination," published in 2009, focused on recent developments on types, sources, and levels of disease-causing pathogens encountered in food-producing animal environments; their association with food safety; and current and new methods to control/reduce foodborne pathogens on the farm.
"Foodborne Pathogens & Disease has helped bridge the gap between science and instituting policy to reduce the burden of foodborne illness worldwide."
Foodborne Disease Trends and Reports, a regular feature of the journal, provides a public health perspective on current food safety problems, includes brief reports on current public health trends such as newly observed antimicrobial resistances among foodborne pathogens, and highlights recent investigations of foodborne disease outbreaks.
Would you give us a brief history of the journal?
About eight years ago, I was contacted by Vicki Cohn and Mary Ann Liebert of the publishing firm of Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., about launching a journal dedicated to food safety. At that time, I was heavily engaged in a variety of research projects and declined the offer.
About a year later, I inquired about the status of their proposed food safety journal and Vicki and Mary Ann convinced me that this journal was necessary and that I was the person for the job. They must have caught me during a weak moment (they were both very convincing) and I agreed to begin the journey.
Foodborne Pathogens & Disease began as a quarterly international peer-reviewed journal, and the first issue was published in 2004. The response to the launch of this peer-reviewed quarterly international journal has been incredible.
An important milestone in the journal's history was when Foodborne Pathogens & Disease was indexed in both Medline and Current Contents—two of the most prestigious indexing services in the world.
Because of the journal's growth, we decided to increase publication frequency of Foodborne Pathogens & Disease from four to six issues per year in 2007. This allowed more timely publication of review articles, original research papers, short communications, "Perspectives" articles, Letters to the Editor, and Foodborne Disease Trends and Reports.
More frequent publication also provided additional flexibility and allowed for creative "Special Issues" as described previously.
The response to Foodborne Pathogens & Disease published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. both in print and online with an open access option continues to be incredible. The journal has grown every year and the number of quality manuscripts submitted to Foodborne Pathogens & Disease continues to increase.
In 2010, we increased publication frequency and will publish 12 issues per year to meet the increased demand. It is hard to believe that six short years ago we began as a quarterly publication and now we will be publishing an issue each month.
Foodborne Pathogens & Disease continues to serve as an important forum to communicate from around the globe and across the many disciplines that contribute to food safety including public health, human and veterinary medicine, agricultural sciences, and food processing.
What historical factors have contributed to the success of Foodborne Pathogens and Disease?
Given the considerable national/international demand for food safety, the formidable challenges of producing and maintaining a safe food supply, and the enormous and timely concerns regarding the possibility of agroterrorism and its potential impact on our food supply, food safety research and educational programs have taken on a new urgency.
The challenges to providing a safe and nutritious food supply are complex because all aspects of food production—from farm to fork—need to be considered.
Not only must research be conducted to solve complex food safety problems, but results of that research must be communicated to scientists; to the medical, veterinary, and agricultural communities; to government regulatory agencies; to food producers and processors; and to consumers in a timely manner.