From 1996 to 2005, it was ranked eighth among impact in scientific journals publishing food science and technology.

[1] The journal was founded in 1936 as Food Research with Fred W. Tanner (University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign) as editor in chief.

Published bimonthly by Garrard Press, it was a publication that dealt with food science and technology research.

George F. Stewart (University of California, Davis) took over in January 1961, renaming Food Research to it current name.

The current Editor-in-Chief of JFS is Edward Allen Foegeding, a distinguished professor of food chemistry at North Carolina State University though he will step down from that role at the end of 2020 after having served since 2012.