Corrections, Retractions & Withdrawal

The Journal of Advanced Food Technology, Cultivation, and Innovation (JAFTCI) is committed to maintaining the accuracy, reliability, transparency, and integrity of the scholarly record. The journal recognizes that errors, concerns regarding research validity, ethical violations, and requests to withdraw manuscripts may arise at different stages of scholarly publication.

JAFTCI establishes clear procedures for corrections, retractions, manuscript withdrawals, and expressions of concern to ensure that editorial actions are proportionate, evidence-based, properly documented, and communicated transparently to the scholarly community.

This policy is informed by the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and relevant scholarly record maintenance practices recommended by Crossref. All editorial actions must protect the integrity of scientific communication while ensuring procedural fairness, appropriate author involvement, and accurate public notification.

⚖️ 01. General Principles and Editorial Responsibilities

JAFTCI considers post-publication amendments and manuscript withdrawals according to the nature, timing, seriousness, and scientific implications of the issue involved. The primary purpose of editorial intervention is to protect the reliability of published research rather than to punish authors.

Editorial Principles

  1. Accuracy: The published scholarly record must accurately represent research findings, authorship, and relevant publication information.
  2. Transparency: Significant editorial amendments must be clearly documented and communicated to readers.
  3. Proportionality: Editorial actions must correspond to the severity and implications of the identified problem.
  4. Evidence-Based Assessment: Corrections, retractions, and other actions must be supported by appropriate examination and documentation.
  5. Editorial Independence: Decisions must be made without inappropriate personal, institutional, financial, or professional influence.
  6. Procedural Fairness: Relevant authors and affected parties should have an appropriate opportunity to provide explanations and supporting evidence.
  7. Scholarly Traceability: Material changes to published articles must remain identifiable through relevant notices, links, and publication records.

✏️ 02. Corrections

A correction is an editorial amendment issued when a published article contains an error requiring rectification but its principal scientific findings and conclusions remain sufficiently reliable.

Corrections may be initiated by authors, editors, readers, institutions, or other parties who identify an error affecting the accuracy or interpretation of a published article.

👤 Authorship and Affiliation

Corrections to author names, institutional affiliations, author contributions, or other authorship information where appropriate supporting evidence is available.

📊 Tables and Figures

Correction of mislabeled tables, inaccurate figure captions, production errors, or limited visual inaccuracies that do not invalidate the overall research.

🧮 Calculations and Research Details

Amendment of limited numerical, statistical, methodological, or descriptive errors when the principal results and conclusions remain reliable.

📚 Bibliographic and Declaration Details

Correction of material errors in references, funding acknowledgements, conflict-of-interest declarations, or relevant publication information.

Correction Procedure

The editorial office verifies the reported error, evaluates its significance, obtains relevant clarification, and determines whether a formal correction notice is necessary. A formal notice should identify the affected article, describe the original error, state the correction, and be linked to the publication.

Changes to authorship require an adequate explanation and supporting documentation. The editorial office should obtain the agreement of affected authors where appropriate, while unresolved disputes may require clarification from relevant institutions.

Minor typographical or formatting changes that do not affect the interpretation, attribution, or scientific content of an article may be handled administratively. Substantive corrections must not be introduced through undocumented or misleading replacement of the original published record.

↩️ 03. Retractions

A retraction is a formal notice indicating that a published article should no longer be relied upon as a valid representation of scientific findings because of serious errors, substantial reliability concerns, or significant breaches of research or publication ethics.

A retraction may be initiated by the editorial office following an investigation or considered in response to credible concerns submitted by authors, readers, reviewers, institutions, or other relevant parties.

Grounds for Retraction

  1. Unreliable Findings: Substantial scientific errors, experimental inaccuracies, or methodological defects invalidate the principal results or conclusions.
  2. Fabrication or Falsification: Research data, laboratory results, images, experimental observations, or other evidence have been fabricated or materially falsified.
  3. Plagiarism: The article contains serious inappropriate appropriation of intellectual contributions, research findings, data, or textual materials.
  4. Redundant Publication: Previously published research has been republished without adequate disclosure, acknowledgment, authorization, or scholarly justification.
  5. Research Ethics Violations: Significant ethical requirements governing research participants, research materials, experimental procedures, or data have been breached.
  6. Compromised Peer Review: The publication resulted from manipulated, fraudulent, or materially compromised editorial and peer-review procedures.
  7. Intellectual Property Violations: The article contains serious unauthorized use of protected materials or other substantial legal violations.
  8. Other Serious Integrity Concerns: Substantiated circumstances demonstrate that continued reliance on the article or its original publication status is inappropriate.

Purpose of Retraction

Retraction is intended to correct and protect the scholarly record. It does not automatically establish that every author intentionally engaged in misconduct. Retraction notices should distinguish serious research errors from established misconduct and avoid unsupported allegations concerning individual intentions.

Retracted articles should ordinarily remain accessible with an unmistakable retraction label and a direct link to the relevant notice. The original article should not be silently deleted or replaced. Exceptional legal, privacy, or safety circumstances may require additional restrictions under the journal's removal procedures.

📤 04. Withdrawal Before Formal Publication

Manuscript withdrawal refers to the formal termination of a manuscript's consideration or production process before it has been published as an official scholarly article.

Authors may request withdrawal of a manuscript during initial screening, peer review, revision, or after acceptance but before formal publication. Withdrawal requests must be submitted through the official JAFTCI editorial communication channels.

Manuscript Withdrawal Requirements

  1. Official Request: Submit a written withdrawal request through OJS editorial correspondence or the journal's official contact channel.
  2. Manuscript Identification: Include the manuscript title, submission identification number, corresponding author, and relevant submission information.
  3. Withdrawal Explanation: Clearly state the reason for requesting withdrawal.
  4. Co-Author Agreement: Confirm that all authors have been informed and provide evidence of agreement where requested.
  5. Editorial Verification: Allow the editorial office to verify the manuscript's current publication status and process the withdrawal request.
  6. Formal Confirmation: Obtain official confirmation from the JAFTCI editorial office that the manuscript has been withdrawn from editorial consideration.

Important Withdrawal Conditions

A manuscript is not considered formally withdrawn merely because the corresponding author sends a request or discontinues communication. The editorial office must confirm the withdrawal and update the relevant OJS submission record.

Once an article has been formally published, including as an official online-first article or version of record, it cannot be treated as an unpublished manuscript for withdrawal purposes. Any necessary change must follow the appropriate correction, retraction, or exceptional removal procedure.

A withdrawal request does not prevent the editorial office from examining credible concerns about plagiarism, fabricated evidence, manipulated peer review, or other serious research integrity issues.

JAFTCI does not impose manuscript withdrawal administration fees. The journal's editorial and publication services are provided free of charge (IDR 0,-).

⚠️ 05. Expressions of Concern

An Expression of Concern is an official editorial notice issued when serious questions concerning the accuracy, reliability, or ethical integrity of a published article remain unresolved and readers should be informed while further examination is underway.

An Expression of Concern does not constitute a finding that research misconduct has occurred, nor is it a substitute for a necessary correction or retraction.

Circumstances Supporting an Expression of Concern

  • Credible concerns about published findings require further investigation.
  • Available evidence is insufficient to determine whether correction or retraction is appropriate.
  • An investigation is ongoing and its potential findings may substantially affect the reliability of the published article.
  • Important evidence or institutional clarification is unavailable or delayed.
  • A timely public notice is necessary to alert readers to a material unresolved concern.

The notice must identify the affected publication, explain the nature of the concern, and avoid presenting unverified allegations as established facts. Once sufficient evidence becomes available, the journal should determine whether the notice requires updating, resolution, correction, retraction, or another documented outcome.

🔐 06. Exceptional Article Removal

JAFTCI distinguishes article removal from ordinary manuscript withdrawal or scholarly retraction. Removal of already published content is considered only under exceptional circumstances when continued public availability presents serious legal, privacy, safety, or comparable concerns.

Such circumstances may include a binding legal order, serious disclosure of protected personal information, or a demonstrable risk of harm that cannot reasonably be addressed through a conventional correction or retraction.

Article Removal Procedure

Any proposed removal must be evaluated by the responsible editorial and publishing authorities, with appropriate legal or institutional advice when required.

Where reasonably and legally possible, the journal should retain a publicly accessible bibliographic record identifying the article and explaining that the full text has been removed or access restricted. The notice must not disclose the very information whose protection justified removal.

Article removal must not be used simply to conceal scientific errors, avoid legitimate criticism, or eliminate the historical record of a justified retraction.

🔎 07. Investigation and Editorial Decision Procedure

All substantive concerns requiring correction, retraction, or another post-publication action must be examined through a fair, appropriately documented, and evidence-based editorial process.

Editorial Investigation Stages

  1. Receipt of Concern: The editorial office receives and records the complaint, withdrawal request, error notification, or research integrity concern.
  2. Preliminary Assessment: The responsible editor evaluates whether the matter warrants clarification, scientific investigation, or another editorial response.
  3. Evidence Collection: Relevant manuscripts, publication files, datasets, correspondence, supplementary materials, and other supporting records are examined where appropriate.
  4. Author Clarification: Authors are given an appropriate opportunity to respond to substantive concerns and provide relevant explanations or documentation.
  5. Independent Evaluation: External experts, institutional authorities, or other qualified parties may be consulted when specialized assessment is necessary.
  6. Editorial Determination: The Editor-in-Chief, or an independent delegated editor when a relevant conflict exists, determines the appropriate action based on available evidence.
  7. Documentation and Communication: The editorial office records the decision, informs relevant parties, and publishes an appropriate notice when required.

Editorial Independence

Editors with relevant conflicts of interest must not control the investigation or final decision. When necessary, responsibility must be assigned to an appropriately qualified independent editor or editorial representative.

📑 08. Publication of Corrections and Retraction Notices

Formal corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern must be communicated through clearly identifiable and publicly accessible editorial notices. Such notices are integral to preserving the transparency and traceability of the scholarly record.

Mandatory Elements of Editorial Notices

  1. Clearly identify the article affected by the notice.
  2. Include the original article title, authors, and relevant bibliographic details.
  3. Provide the DOI or stable article URL when available.
  4. Identify the type of editorial action being taken.
  5. Explain the reasons and relevant findings supporting the action.
  6. Identify the journal, editor, publisher, or other authorized party issuing the notice.
  7. Include the official notice publication date.
  8. Maintain free public access to the notice.
  9. Provide an appropriate link between the notice and the original publication.
  10. Ensure that the original article's visible status and applicable publication metadata are updated where necessary.

Retraction notices must be clearly distinguished from ordinary corrections, editorial commentary, and expressions of concern. They should be factual, specific, professionally worded, and free from unnecessary or unsubstantiated accusations.

🔗 09. Article Status, DOI, and Publication Metadata

JAFTCI recognizes the importance of maintaining accurate bibliographic records when a published article undergoes an editorially significant change. Corrections, retractions, expressions of concern, and other publication updates should be reflected appropriately in the journal's online records and relevant metadata services.

📄 Original Article Record

The original publication record should remain identifiable and provide readers with clear information concerning any relevant correction, retraction, or expression of concern.

📝 Editorial Notice

A separate notice should be published for editorially significant updates, explaining the change and providing a direct reference to the original article.

🌐 Crossref and DOI Metadata

Where supported by the publisher's registration arrangements, significant updates should be reflected in Crossref DOI metadata. Separate correction or retraction notices should receive their own DOI when appropriate and supported.

🏷️ Retraction Identification

Retracted articles must display an unmistakable retraction status on the relevant article landing page and, where technically feasible, within downloadable publication files.

Permanent Scholarly Record

Substantive post-publication updates must not obscure the historical record. Appropriate notices, persistent links, and metadata relationships should enable researchers, readers, and indexing services to determine the current editorial status of the affected work.

This policy does not imply that JAFTCI has already implemented Crossmark. Where such services are not available, the journal must still maintain clear and accessible article status information through its OJS publishing records.

👥 10. Author Responses, Disagreement, and Appeals

Authors should be provided with an appropriate opportunity to respond to substantive concerns regarding their manuscripts or published articles. Their explanations, supporting evidence, and relevant institutional findings must be considered during editorial examination.

Authors may disagree with an editorial conclusion or request reconsideration when they can provide new scientific evidence, identify a procedural irregularity, or demonstrate a material error in the editorial assessment.

Editorial Authority and Fairness

A justified correction or retraction may proceed even when one or more authors disagree with the editorial action, provided that appropriate examination has established sufficient grounds for the decision.

Relevant author disagreement should be documented and fairly represented where necessary. Appeals should be considered by an appropriately qualified editor who is not affected by a relevant conflict of interest.

📂 11. Editorial Documentation and Confidentiality

The JAFTCI editorial office is responsible for maintaining appropriate records of manuscript withdrawal requests, reported publication errors, research integrity complaints, author explanations, expert assessments, and final editorial decisions.

Required Editorial Records

  • Original requests, complaints, or research integrity notifications.
  • Identification of the affected manuscript or published article.
  • Relevant research evidence and supporting documents.
  • Author explanations and institutional correspondence where applicable.
  • Independent expert evaluations and editorial assessments.
  • Editorial decisions and documented reasons for the selected action.
  • Published corrections, retraction notices, or expressions of concern.
  • Relevant metadata updates and communications concerning the article's publication status.

Confidential material and personal information must be protected in accordance with applicable privacy and editorial ethics requirements. Records should be accessible only to authorized parties involved in the appropriate assessment or administrative procedure.