AACC International rebrands as Cereals & Grains Association
The association was founded in 1915 as the American Association for Cereal Chemists and changed its name to AACC International in 1991 to indicate its global membership.
However, over the past century, it has become a platform for a wider range of disciplines in the science-based community, including cereal chemists, breeders, food scientists, nutritionists, product developers, engineers, quality managers, marketers and salespeople, among others.
According to CGA, its members are the creative and scientific force behind some of the most popular and profitable cereal or grain-based crackers, cookies, pretzels and snacks on the market and work for the industry’s leading companies, including Frito-Lay, General Mills and Kellogg.
“We wanted our name to be more reflective of our community,” said Amy Hope, CEO of CGA. “Our members aren’t just in R&D or research. We’re more interconnected and interdisciplinary now.”
The new name was rolled out at the association’s annual conference, Cereals & Grains 19, held in Denver, Colorado, at the beginning of November.
The change was a year in the making, with feedback from members, focus groups and the industry taken into consideration.
Attracting a younger crowd
“We wanted to be more inclusive in our membership, especially for young people just entering the industry,” added Hope.
“They might have looked at AACC International and said ‘Well, I’m not a cereal chemist,’ but we are so much more than that. Everyone in our sphere can say they work in cereals and grains.”
The non-profit association aims to foster food evolution through its membership of more than 1,400 scientists and food industry professionals. It will continue to publish its peer-reviewed research journal Cereal Chemistry and member publication Cereal Foods World.
Both of the association’s core products – AACC Approved Methods of Analysis and AACC Laboratory Proficiency Program – will retain the ‘AACC’ moniker due to their long-standing importance and integration in trade and regulatory affairs. The Laboratory Proficiency Program remains strongly linked with the AACC Approved Methods of Analysis.
