Abstracts

Abstract Submission Guidelines

General Guidelines:

Abstract submissions must be submitted online.  Emailed submissions will not be accepted.

The official Congress language is English.

Abstracts can be submitted for oral or poster presentation.

Submissions can be of original research or commercial appeal.

See below for more information.

• Abstract submissions should be original, topical, and current.
• The title of your abstract should not exceed 50 words.
• The body text of your abstract should not exceed 350 words.

The deadline for abstract submissions is 22 April 2025.

Authors will be notified of acceptance by 25 May 2025.

If accepted, at least one of the listed authors must be registered and be in attendance to present your work.  Presenting authors should be registered by 15 July 2025.

The scientific programme committee will endeavour to schedule abstracts according to the author’s preference but reserves the right to decide on the final form.

Guidelines for Original Research Abstracts:

• All original research submissions should preferably not have been previously accepted for publication in a journal, presented in another conference or be under review at another conference.
• The abstract (maximum 350 words) should contain the following sections: Introduction, Methodology, Results, Discussion and Conclusions.
• The introduction should give a brief background of the research topic, stating the problem and leading to the aim of the specific research.
• A brief description of the methodology and techniques used in the research should be given.
• The results and discussion section should give a concise presentation of the results obtained and highlight any trends or points of interest. Statements such as “results will be presented” or “will be discussed” are not acceptable and such abstracts will be rejected.
• A brief explanation of the significance and implications of the work reported should conclude the abstract.

Guideline for Commercial Appeal Abstracts:

• The abstract (maximum 350 words) should give a brief background to the topic that is being presented, highlight the main learnings/applications/trends, etc., that are going to be presented and highlight the relevance of the presentation to the food science community/food industry/consumers.  
• Commercial appeal submissions should not be advertisements but rather address commercial aspects.

How to submit your abstract online

To submit an abstract for oral or poster presentation:

1. Register as a user on the online submission system.  Login and start the submission process.
2. The submission form is comprised of several questions which need to be completed, most are mandatory questions, and your submission will show as “incomplete” until such time that all mandatory questions have been answered.
3. In the box provided for the abstract body text, do not include the title or the authors information.
4. Your presentation title should not exceed 50 words, and your body text should not exceed 350 words.
5. Once all questions have been completed you will click on the submit button. A confirmation email will be sent to you.
6. You will not be able to amend a submission once you have submitted. For any changes or to withdraw an abstract, please email Lea Patience lea@soafrica.com  for assistance.

Acceptance/Rejection of Abstracts

The scientific programme committee will review all submitted abstracts and reserves the right to accept or reject any abstracts. Selected abstracts will be presented as oral or poster presentations. Authors of abstracts accepted will receive notification and information regarding their presentation by 25 May 2025.

All authors will be kept informed, in writing, of the details concerning the exact time and date of their presentation. Poster presenters will be notified of the poster size and guidelines in writing as well.