A review of the top 100 most cited papers on food safety

With the ever-increasing changes and growing scientific output in the field of food safety, it has become imperative to measure, analyze, characterize and compare existing publications quantitatively. The present study aimed to identify and analyze the characteristics of the 100 top-cited studies on food safety. Food safety articles published in the Web of Science Core Collection database between 1950 and 2020 were collected, and bibliometric parameters were assessed. Data analysis was performed using VOSviewer software to visualize linkages and establish relationships between articles, keywords, research areas, authors, countries and institutions, among others, providing insight into the most impactful studies related to food safety. This study highlights that research focused on food safety is growing rapidly globally and cuts across several fields, including biotechnology, microbiology, food processing and preservation, consumer studies, and policy development. There is a dearth of research articles in the areas of chemical contamination of foods by pesticides and other chemical residues and in food fraud detection and prevention studies.