FSTA in Review: 2022

(Wokingham, UK)  24 January, 2023

As we begin the new year, IFIS is pleased to look back at all the valuable research added to FSTA and the free resources launched in 2022.

For over 50 years, FSTA has brought together relevant, authoritative sources, allowing researchers, scientists, students, and government bodies to search for historic and emerging research in the sciences of food and health. 2022 was no different, with our experts combing through the scientific landscape to bring you our largest ever annual increase, while still ensuring all content is high quality, relevant, and reputable.

114,117 records added

During 2022 we added 114,117 new records to the FSTA database, our biggest annual increase to date. This was an 8% increase on the previous year, taking us to a total of over 1.84 million records!

To achieve this, our science team screened almost ½ million original articles (484,587) during the year to identify relevant content. These articles were all from sources that had previously passed our rigorous 60-point assessment of the source’s quality and integrity.

Those added were sourced from 1,639 different publications (including 1,226 journals) across 400 publishers based in 66 countries. Records indexed included articles originally published in 28 languages. FSTA continues to be a truly global resource. These new records are comprised of approx. 80% journal articles (academic research papers and trade articles), 11% reviews, and 9% others (including patents, reports, books and chapters, standards, conference proceedings, and theses). 

Open Access and other full text resources

FSTA continues to feature a wealth of Open Access journal content, with 39% of the new journal articles added in 2022 coming from fully Open Access journals (>41,800 records). This is an increase from 36% in 2021 and 32% in 2020. Moreover, over 40% of the new records include freely available online full text (>46,400 records).

However, it is vital that any research carried out represents the full breadth of the published work, including that which is not Open Access, in order to be fully comprehensive and unbiased. To support researchers in this we have a selection of free resources, including our article: 5 free and legal ways to get the full text of research articles. 

FSTA with Full Text

2022 also saw the launch of FSTA with Full Text, produced in collaboration with EBSCO. You can quickly discover authoritative, food-focused research with the FSTA database - with new full-text capability. FSTA with Full Text benefits from all of the strengths of the renowned FSTA database, and includes access to a wide range of active full-text journals.

100 new journals available

During 2022, 100 new journals passed our assessment procedure and were indexed in FSTA for the first time. This included 66 fully Open Access journals. The journals cover a range of disciplines in addition to general food science and technology titles, including 28 on nutrition, health and disease, 15 titles on agriculture, 6 on public health and 5 on microbiology. Further areas of focus included analytical methods, lipid sciences, consumer and hospitality research.

We have also been busy ensuring more new journals are added in the coming year. 49 fully Open Access titles have already been implemented with publishers during 2022, with data to flow into FSTA in 2023.

Do you have a suggestion for a journal that could be indexed in FSTA in 2023? If you would like to recommend a journal, please submit it through our Recommend a Journal page. Our editorial team will assess whether the journal meets our criteria for inclusion in FSTA. 

Free resources for students and researchers

As a not-for-profit organisation, our mission is to fundamentally understand and best serve the information needs of the global food community. 2022 was no different, with our commitment to providing free resources to support those in academia, industry, and the public sector. Here are just some of the new resources launched in 2022:

• Our popular Best Practice in Literature Searching Guide was released in additional languages. The guide is now available in English, Chinese, Farsi, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. Written and reviewed by experts, the guide is full of practical advice on how to plan and carry out literature reviews.
• The Journal Lookup Service is a quick and easy way to check if a journal is indexed in FSTA and can therefore be trusted as peer-reviewed and not predatory. Whether you need to verify the credibility of a source when literature searching or to make sure a journal is legitimate before submitting your paper, the JLS can help.
• The free, practical guide - Good Review Practice: A researcher guide to systematic review methodology in the sciences of food and health - takes you through the steps of carrying out a systematic review, including advice on how to follow standard methodology practices, key tools to use, and much more.
• The Industry Researcher’s Guide to Effective Literature Searching was updated in 2022 to reflect the latest guidance. It shows you how to design a search that captures all the literature you need, then leverage that search to continue delivering the updates you require.

Thank you

IFIS would like to thank everyone involved in producing FSTA and our range of free resources for their work on assessing and implementing the new content and making 2022 a record-breaking year while keeping our commitment to quality and relevancy.

We would also like to thank the members of our Advisory Boards, who have provided great insight and expertise throughout the year:

• FSTA Faculty Advisory Board
• FSTA Librarian Advisory Board
• FSTA Corporate Advisory Board
• FSTA Student Advisory Board
• Nutritional Science Collection Advisory Board

Most importantly, thank you to all our users across the world, using FSTA to power your research and contributing to the future of the sciences of food and health.