Flipping a flagship journal to open access

Flipping a flagship journal to open access might seem daunting, especially at the same time as changing publishers, but the International Association for Food Protection’s successful switch proves that it might not be as hard as you think.

The International Association for Food Protection opens in new tab/window (IAFP) moved its flagship publication, the Journal of Food Protection opens in new tab/window, to an open access model in 2023, which coincided with its move to Elsevier. The combination of a new model and new publisher resulted in an uptick in submissions, accepted papers and online traffic, enabling the society to boost the reach of vital research across its global community.

Why move to open access?

With a membership comprising more than 4,500 food safety professionals, the IAFP’s goal is to advance food safety worldwide by providing a forum for experts to exchange information on protecting the food supply.

Previously, the Journal of Food Protection was only available to members for an additional fee and others via a subscription.

“We felt we were getting left out and not being recognized by or exposed to the scientific community because we were in our own little bubble,” explains Lisa Garcia opens in new tab/window, Executive Director of the IAFP.

The society also found that many researchers stopped publishing in the journal because their funding sources required them to publish their research where it would have a certain degree of visibility, which the journal did not have at the time.

Lisa advocated for change, reasoning that the journal could not continue without a higher degree of publicity and visibility: “We couldn’t get our word out to everyone by keeping it to ourselves.”

Tracking the journal’s success

The feedback from the society’s community has been positive. Also, while many journals moving to open access experience a temporary dip in article submissions, this journal saw no such drop in 2023, likely helped by the journal’s author community already accustomed to paying for page charges. And in 2024, the number of submissions increased by 4%, while the number of accepted papers rose by an even more impressive 30%. Online stats have also improved significantly since the move, with downloads from ScienceDirect opens in new tab/window hitting 1.8 million in 2023 and 2.3 million in 2024.

All of these factors have contributed to bringing the journal’s articles to a much wider audience.

Why Elsevier?

After meeting with various publishers, Lisa and her IAFP team decided Elsevier would be the best fit for moving the journal forward:

Not only does Elsevier have a strong scientific background, we knew that we would also benefit from articles appearing on ScienceDirect. We also found that communication back and forth with the Elsevier team was excellent, and we knew they have the capability to promote the journal for us, so it just made the most sense.

With the aim of widening the journal’s exposure around the world, the IAFP was keen to benefit from Elsevier’s marketing support. One example of this is the highlighting of select authors on social media, which has been “very well received,” Lisa said.

Busting the myths of open access

Before the move to OA, the biggest challenge the society faced was skepticism from members who felt that it would mean the society losing control of the journal.

“We had to communicate our reasoning clearly to our members, and reassure them that we would still have a certain level of control over the journal,” Lisa explained. “And once they saw that the journal would be more easily accessible to a wider audience, with more promotion through other channels, most were on board.”

The journal’s new model was announced at the IAFP’s annual conference in July. The society set up a booth, including a representative from Elsevier, where they could talk to members about their concerns.

“It was a good way to really get ahead of the myths that people believed about the transition to open access,” Lisa said.

The society has continued to promote the journal at every subsequent annual conference and also encourages many of the event’s speakers to publish the contents of their presentations as articles.

Supporting the transition

The transition itself also presented some minor challenges that proved particularly pressing during the crossover period when articles were still being published using the old system. As well as figuring out the new process, the journal team had to ensure that authors were able to use the new system.

“It was definitely a learning curve,” said Lisa. “We just took as much advice from Elsevier as we could. The publishing world has changed so much, so we were really reliant on Elsevier to be that voice for us.”

In the end, these issues were resolved with Elsevier’s support, she said.

Tips for open access success

Just as the leap from receiving manuscripts through the mail to the entire process going digital proved to be a huge shift in the way publishing works, Lisa believes that open access represents the next major evolution. Switching the Journal of Food Protection to open access has been a very positive move for the IAFP, and Lisa has some words of wisdom for other societies thinking of taking a similar step:

Take your time. Ask a lot of questions, because there are things that you might assume work one way, and they do not. This is not something that’s going to happen overnight. You have to set a timeline and communicate the benefits clearly to your society members because you need their support to continue to grow.

What’s next?

So what’s next for the IAFP’s flagship journal? The team is currently working on a special issue pipeline, with one already in progress opens in new tab/window — a first for the publication — and an article collection of critical reviews in food protection opens in new tab/window to boost exposure to their articles even further. The society also expects to see improvement in the journal’s Impact Factor as it catches up with the success they’ve had so far.

“Submission rates are growing, so we’ll keep on working with Elsevier’s marketing team to maintain that growth and exposure and keep things going in the right direction,” Lisa said. “Working on the switch to open access with Elsevier has been a great experience, and we’re very happy with the result.”