INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD MICROBIOLOGY

The article was submitted online and a timeline is provided for everyone's reference.

Submitted on December 25, 2022, the article exceeded the word limit so a portion was deleted and returned to the editor. Please note that the reference list is included in the word count, which should not exceed 7,000 words. It was approximately sent for review around January 5, 2023, taking about 10 days.

In early February, the reviewer's comments were received, which took less than a month. There were three reviewers, and the process was very fast. The editor allowed 21 days for revisions, but one reviewer requested the addition of a complete bacterial genome sequencing. Therefore, an extension of 40 days was requested and the editor promptly agreed, mentioning the possibility of further extensions if necessary.

The revised version was sent back on April 5 and underwent external review. However, it was accepted on April 18, with the second review being very fast. On April 24, it was preliminarily made available online and for proofreading.

In summary, it was a very quick submission process, taking less than two months from submission to acceptance, excluding the time for the personal extension. The editor, Dr. Kunihiro Kimura, was an excellent editor.

From October 2020, I have been rejected continuously after submitting my manuscript. Finally, I submitted to IJFM. After submitting, I saw online comments saying that it is unfriendly towards Chinese people, but I had no choice as it was the last option in Q1. In January 2021, I submitted again, and during the process, it constantly showed "Under Review" with changing dates. In mid-June, it was sent back for major revisions. There were three reviewers, two had preferences, and one did not prefer it but did not reject it harshly, just raised many questions. I was given two months for the revisions, but I actually finished them in one month. After resubmitting, it took around 10 days to receive acceptance (end of July). Overall, I consider myself lucky, and I did not feel any bias.