A bibliometric analysis and evaluation of publications published in the meat science journal from 1980 to 2025

The Meat Science journal is a high-impact, internationally recognized scientific and prestigious journal that has served as a leading platform for publishing groundbreaking research in meat science for over four decades. Given its prominent role in shaping the field, investigating the journal's publication trends and scientific influence provides valuable insight into the evolution of meat science research. In this respect, we conducted a detailed bibliometric analysis of publications in the Meat Science journal from 1980 to 2025. The analysis aimed to map the journal's intellectual structure, research dynamics, and scholarly impact, establishing its position as a leading journal in the field of meat science with 8414 publications. A comprehensive dataset was extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection, including publication type, year, author affiliation, country, citation counts, and keyword information. Analytical procedures were conducted using VOSviewer (v1.6.19) and the Bibliometrix package with the Biblioshiny interface in R (v4.4.0). These procedures enabled robust visualization and mapping of co-authorship networks, the co-occurrence of keywords, author citation relationships, and bibliographic coupling. Citation-based metrics and trend analyses were further supported by the "Analyze Results" and "Citation Reports" functions in Web of Science. The analysis revealed publication trends over time, leading contributors and institutions, geographical patterns, and thematic shifts over four decades. The results showed that research articles, proceedings, and review articles were more dominant than other article types. The United States (1283 publications; 56,041 citations) and Spain (1264 publications; 65,089 citations) were the most influential contributors, while INRAE (France) emerged as the leading institution (268 publications; 17,916 citations). Thematic mapping revealed a transition from traditional focuses (e.g., meat quality, tenderness, lipid oxidation) toward emerging domains such as sustainability-encompassing animal welfare, environmental footprint reduction, meat preservation, innovative packaging materials, food safety, and waste minimization-alongside consumer perception and the development of functional meat products. This work highlights the evolving role of the journal in advancing meat science and offers strategic insights for researchers, institutions, and policymakers in the field.