Executive Director of AMSA Thomas Powell describes the newly launched journal Meat and Muscle Biology and how it is unique from other journals out there.

Andy Hanacek: Thomas, thanks again for joining me. This year I wanted to get an update the journal you guys are just launching, the Meat and Muscle Biology. Talk to me a little bit about the genesis of that and what viewers and readers of the journal itself should expect from this new publication.

Thomas Powell: This arose from a need from our membership. There’s not a journal out there that exists where all of our members can publish. There’s places where you can publish poultry research or red meat research or food safety research, but nothing that encompasses all of meat science. So our goal with this was to open it up and say this is a journal for all of meat science. For all different species. Everything from free processing all the way further in the process. All the different kinds of research whether it’s food safety, sensory analysis to quality. Anything goes at this point. We started about a year ago. The task force put together an editorial board. They started accepting submissions back in October [2016], and our very first article was approved [in January]. You see it online in February.

Hanacek: How do you expect this to proceed moving forward? Is it going to be a regular publication? How often? Or is it going to be as you get the research? What’s the basis for publication moving forward?

Powell: It’s going to be a continuously published journal. It’s online only. No printed volumes. Based on the research we’ve done with our membership, we are expecting about 100 articles a year. On an average month, anywhere from six to 10 articles with start showing up.

Hanacek: And you put the call out for research? Or can people just submit it?

Powell: It’s open access. Anyone can submit research. An AMSA member gets a discount on the publishing fees. It’s open access. Anyone in the world can go in and view. There’s no subscription or anything like that. Our goal is to provide our members with an outlet to publish their research on anything related to meat science and get it out to the widest possible audience.

Hanacek: What’s some of the feedback you’ve heard. I know you’ve only got the first article ready to go. What’s some of the feedback you’ve heard from members and the industry on this? I’m sure it’s positive, but what are they actually saying about it?

Powell: They like the fact that it’s all inclusive. It’s going to be a one-stop shop for all things meat science. Our industry partners like the fact that they’re not going to have to pay these super hefty subscription fees to get the latest and greatest. A lot of journals will have open access, but they will have it embargoed for a year or more before you actually get to read it. Our goal is that once a researcher puts their paper in, they have a decision on whether it’s accepted or not within 45 days and then in another two weeks, it can be online and out there. So it’s a very quick turnaround. It gets the research out there, so everybody can use it. Everybody benefits.

Hanacek: And once it’s out there, it’s up there forever?

Powell: That’s right.  

For more on Meat and Muscle Biology, visit http://www.meatscience.org/publications-resources/mmb.