International Association for Cereal Science and Technology

International Association for Cereal Science and Technology
Name	International Association for Cereal Science and Technology
Abbreviation	ICC
Formation	1955
Type	Non-profit organization
Headquarters	Vienna
Region served	Global
Membership	National cereal science institutes, universities, industry bodies
Leader title	President

Contents

International Association for Cereal Science and Technology The International Association for Cereal Science and Technology is an international learned society focused on wheat, rye, barley, oats, rice, maize, sorghum, millet and related cereal processing, quality assessment and food safety. It serves as a forum connecting researchers from institutions such as University of Minnesota, Wageningen University, Kansas State University, University of Reading, University of Sydney and industrial stakeholders including Nestlé, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Cargill, General Mills and Kellogg Company.

History

Founded in the mid-20th century amid postwar reconstruction and agricultural modernization, the organization drew representatives from national bodies like Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft, French National Institute for Agricultural Research, United States Department of Agriculture, Canadian Grain Commission, and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. Early convenings paralleled international gatherings such as the International Wheat Conference, FAO conference on cereals, and GATT negotiations influencing commodity trade. Prominent scientists affiliated by participation included researchers from Rothamsted Research, John Innes Centre, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Russian Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Through the latter half of the 20th century, the association interfaced with regulatory and standard-setting agencies like Codex Alimentarius Commission, European Food Safety Authority, Food and Agriculture Organization, and World Health Organization.

The association promotes collaboration among entities such as International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, International Rice Research Institute, International Food Policy Research Institute, National Institute of Agricultural Botany, International Union of Food Science and Technology and World Grain Forum to improve cereal quality, grain storage, milling and baking science. Objectives align with sustainable agricultural goals championed by United Nations Environment Programme, World Bank, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and scientific agendas advanced by Royal Society and National Academy of Sciences. It aims to foster standards harmonization alongside bodies like International Organization for Standardization, European Committee for Standardization, American Association of Cereal Chemists International and national standards institutes including British Standards Institution and Deutsche Institut für Normung.

Governance typically comprises an executive board, technical committees and regional sections interacting with organizations such as International Institute of Refrigeration, International Association for Plant Biotechnology, European Federation of Food Science and Technology, Asian Food and Feed Grain Association, and national cereal associations in Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Nigeria, Canada, United States, France and Germany. Membership categories include corporate members like DuPont, Bunge Limited, Puratos, research members from University of California, Davis, University of Milan, McGill University, and individual members from professional societies such as Institute of Food Technologists, Society of Chemical Industry, Royal Society of Chemistry and American Society of Agronomy.

The association organizes triennial and biennial congresses attracting delegates from institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Seoul National University, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and international organizations including Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. It collaborates with journals and publishers including Journal of Cereal Science, Food Chemistry, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Cereal Research Communications, Trends in Food Science & Technology, Springer Nature and Elsevier to disseminate technical reports, standards and monographs. Workshops and training courses are run in partnership with World Bank Learning Hub, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded programs, European Commission research projects, and regional initiatives like African Union agricultural programs.

Technical committees have produced standardized methods influencing testing labs at institutions such as National Physical Laboratory (UK), NIST, CSIRO and Agroscope. Research topics integrate genetics from CIMMYT breeding programs, food chemistry informed by Max Planck Society laboratories, and processing technologies from industry R&D centers including Siemens, GEA Group and Bühler Group. The association has contributed to advances in gluten analysis relevant to Coeliac Disease diagnostics, enzyme applications connected with Novozymes research, and shelf-life extension methods intersecting with Nestlé Research Center and Campden BRI expertise. Collaborative projects have linked with initiatives at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, European Research Council, Horizon 2020, Wellcome Trust and national funding agencies like UK Research and Innovation.

The association confers honors recognizing lifetime achievement, young scientist awards and technical innovation prizes, comparable in prestige to awards from Royal Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Wolf Prize, Lasker Award and disciplinary medals awarded by Institute of Food Technologists and Royal Society of Chemistry. Recipients often include scientists associated with University of Copenhagen, University of Helsinki, University of Adelaide, ETH Zurich and industrial leaders from Archer Daniels Midland Company, Cargill and Bühler Group. Institutional recognition involves collaborations with Codex Alimentarius, FAO, WHO and national ministries of agriculture.

Category:International scientific organizations Category:Food science organizations Category:Agricultural organisations