News articles

The issue 3 of volume 8 contains 17 articles. You can check the full list of content here: Table of Contents.

ICC members benefit from free subscription to the ICC scientific journal QAS - Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods. Enjoy reading!

QAS is the international peer-reviewed journal publishing research and review papers associated with the quality and safety of crops. It provides a forum for all those working in the specialist field of food quality and safety to report on the progress and outcomes of their research. It targets plant-based primary raw materials, their harvesting, storage and conversion to human foods. There is a strong focus on the development and application of new analytical tools and their potential for quality assessment, assurance, control and safety. Because crop and food production is complex and new issues emerge on a regular basis, QAS has a scope which embraces many aspects related to food quality. In addition to analytical techniques, food manufacture must also embrace socio-economic impacts, regulation and legal requirements, food security and sustainability. The quality and safety of food is multi-disciplinary with many global issues and it is these that QAS seeks to address.

We are pleased to announce that ICC will co-organise a special session on "Food security and sustainability in the perspective of cereals and grains" during the 30^th EFFoST International Conference, 28-30 November 2016 in Vienna, Austria. You are invited to submit your abstracts by using the online abstract submission system. The deadline for abstract submissions is 3 June 2016.

For more details about the conference read here.

We are pleased to announce that ICC will co-organise a special session on "Food security and sustainability in the perspective of cereals and grains" during the 30^th EFFoST International Conference, 28-30 November 2016 in Vienna, Austria. You are invited to submit your abstracts by using the online abstract submission system. The deadline for submissions is 20 May 2016.

For more details about the conference read here.

The issue 2 of volume 8 contains 15 articles (among which 2 Open Access articles). You can check the full list of content here: Table of Contents.

ICC members benefit from free subscription to the ICC scientific journal QAS - Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods. Enjoy reading!

QAS is the international peer-reviewed journal publishing research and review papers associated with the quality and safety of crops. It provides a forum for all those working in the specialist field of food quality and safety to report on the progress and outcomes of their research. It targets plant-based primary raw materials, their harvesting, storage and conversion to human foods. There is a strong focus on the development and application of new analytical tools and their potential for quality assessment, assurance, control and safety. Because crop and food production is complex and new issues emerge on a regular basis, QAS has a scope which embraces many aspects related to food quality. In addition to analytical techniques, food manufacture must also embrace socio-economic impacts, regulation and legal requirements, food security and sustainability. The quality and safety of food is multi-disciplinary with many global issues and it is these that QAS seeks to address.

Scientists leverage smart technology to support farmers and improve food safety: globally every year there are several billion Euro losses to cereals and other crops through fungal infection, which also causes harm to human health from toxins (mycotoxins) produced by these moulds. In a new initiative that is being funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Programme, a group of scientists, engineers and IT specialists have teamed up to provide knowledge transfer to farmers and other decision makers in the food and feed chains. Using smart technology available on phones and tablets, decision-making tools will be made available to the agricultural and food communities to guide them in taking the most cost-effective actions to minimise fungal infection and mycotoxin formation. Advice will be given in real-time and customised to the individual situation taking into account numerous factors including climatic conditions as a means of forecasting potential fungal infection.

ICC will be responsible for the dissemination of information on the project and its results to a wide audience.

The countdown to the 15^th International Cereal and Bread Congress (ICBC) from 18-21 April 2016 in Istanbul is running. ICC - the International Association for Cereal Science and Technology and ICC's national representation in Turkey, Hacettepe University, who is acting as main organiser of this congress, are looking forward to welcoming you together with more than 400 delegates from around 40 countries from all continents at Military Museum and Culture Site, one of the most popular and secure venues for hosting conferences in Istanbul.

Excellent speakers and outstanding contributions in the areas of storage, marketing and development of innovative cereal products meeting consumers' needs (added values in convenience, taste, nutrition and health, safety and security), exploiting new raw materials/ingredients and new technologies, producing functional foods in the legal framework, and alternative uses of cereals are waiting for you at the ICBC. Please check the PROGRAMME for any further details at www.icbc2016.org/en/#draft-scientific-programme.

Two pre-conference workshops on Monday morning are completing the official programme. See their detailed programme and sign up for any of them as soon as possible since places are limited. Both workshops are free of charge.

With deep sorrow and regret the ICC family has learnt that Dr. Dorian Weipert passed away on 16 January 2016. Dr. Weipert was working at the Institute for Grain, Potato and Starch Technology of the former Federal Centre for Cereal, Potato and Lipid Research and its predecessor institutions in Detmold, Germany (now Max Rubner-Institute) for more than 31 years.

Dr. Weipert was well known within the ICC family. In the past he actively collaborated with the former ICC Working Groups "Determination of Essential Elements" (as Chair) and "Physical Dough Testing" respectively. Among other awards, Dr. Weipert received from ICC the Harald Perten Prize in 1995 for his outstanding achievements in science and research.

With his passing the professional world has lost a broad experienced personality of high renown. Dr. Weipert will be greatly missed by everybody who knew him. His memory will stay in ICC forever.

Please read the full obituary, written by Dr. Meinolf Lindhauer (in German).

ICC invites expressions of interest from its member organisations to co-organise the 1^st Asia Pacific ICC Conference (APAC-ICC) with ICC to be held in 2017.

The conference shall promote the scientific and technological knowledge related to the production, processing (incl. milling) and consumption of cereals, grains and food addressing issues that contribute to improved food safety, food security and food quality with focus on the Asia Pacific Region.

Applications are open to ICC Member Organisations that are in good financial standing (no open membership fee). Organisations interested in co-organising the 1^st APAC-ICC Conference in 2017 are invited to submit their application in writing addressed to the ICC General Secretary, Michaela Pichler by e-mail to officeicc [dot] or [dot] at the latest by 31 March 2016.

Read more for conference details and how to express your interest in the attached PDF document.

The 4^th International ISEKI_Food Conference (www.isekiconferences.com/vienna2016), where up to 300 participants are expected, will take place in Vienna, Austria, from 6 - 8 July 2016 at the University of Natural Life Sciences (BOKU).

Some of the invited speakers (in alphabetical order) have already confirmed: Hugo de Vries (Joint Research Centre IATE of INRA, CIRAD), Jan de Vries (nutrition solutions), Marc Dryer (Nestle), Martin Hablesreiter (honey&bunny productions), Henry Jäger (BOKU), Francesco Marra (University of Salerno), Karl-Heinz Wagner (Austrian Nutrition Society), ...

Abstracts are welcome to the following topics:

ICC is currently looking for a motivated candidate to fill the position as Project- and Event Manager at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

The candidate shall be responsible among others for

• Project management incl. planning, communication, controlling, documentation, reporting etc. regarding running research projects
• Event management incl. planning, organising, implementing, controlling and evaluation of international conferences, symposia and workshops
• Support the communication and promotion of research results through websites, social media and other channels

Read full job offer ...

With the start of the New Year comes the start of another volume of Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods, the official journal of the International Association for Cereal Science and Technology (ICC). Most of you will be familiar with the history of QAS. Some recent changes are worthy of note. The first is that Roland Poms stepped down as Co-editor in Chief during 2015 as he left ICC to pursue other business interests. Roland played a key role in getting the journal started, established and in the change of publisher to Wageningen Academic Publishers. All of us on the Editorial team of QAS wish to thank him for his hard work with QAS over the years. Roland is not entirely lost to QAS as he remains on the Editorial Board and as Secretary General of MoniQA (who has also supported QAS since its birth).

The composition of the Editorial Board of QAS has also undergone a number of changes as some initial members stood down and some new ones joined. I have been joined by Dr Pierre Gelinas, Dr Hamit Köksel and Dr Martin Rose as Associate Editors to provide much needed support as submissions to QAS and its stature continues to grow. We also took the opportunity to more closely refine the scope of QAS and give clearer guidance to contributors.

All of you reading this news item can play a role in ensuring the continued success of QAS. Many of you already have offered and had published submissions, or acted as much needed reviewers of the many submissions we receive.

On behalf of all staff at ICC Headquarters in Vienna and all ICC Officials around the globe I would like to thank you for your trust and collaboration in the past year.

We can look back at another successful year in ICC, thanks to the great collaboration of the global ICC network of members and stakeholders.

Some highlights in 2015 were:

• the successful organisation of the three major conferences: the 3^rd ICC Latin America Cereal Conference (LACC3) in Curitiba/Brazil, which has also been ICC's 60^th Anniversary Conference; the 6^th International Dietary Fibre Conference 2015 (DF15) with INRA in Paris/France; and the Joint ICC/AISTEC Conference at the World Expo 2015 "Grains for feeding the world" in Milan/Italy.
• the co-organisation and endorsement of numerous other international conferences and meetings around the globe (e.g. the 2^nd International Symposium of Food Science and Human Wellness in Zhuzhou, Hunan/China; the Flour Mill 2015 in Moscow/Russia; the International Rice Conference in Pingtung/Taiwan; and the Flour-Bread '15 in Osijek/Croatia).
• the extension of the ICC Online Store where now all electronic and printed publications are available.
• the implementation and finalisation of several EU funded research projects with ICC involvement.
• the reorganisation of the existing ICC Technical Committee resulting in a new TC ready to start its work beginning of 2016.
• the development of new communication channels - ICC is now also available at LinkedIn and also soon on Facebook.
• the acquisition of new ICC Members.

We are looking forward to providing ever improving services to the cereals and food science and technology communities and we hope for your continuous trust also in 2016 and beyond!

On behalf of ICC - International Association for Cereal Science and Technology I would like to wish you a Happy Holiday Season and a Successful New Year!

2016 will offer several opportunities to meet ICC and colleagues from around the globe and we hope to see you at one or the other ICC supported meeting, e.g. 18-21 April 2016 at the 15^th International Cereal and Bread Congress (ICBC) 2016 (www.icbc2016.org).

Michaela Pichler
ICC Secretary General

PS: Please mind that ICC Headquarters will be closed between 24 December 2015 and 6 January 2016.

ICC is currently reinforcing its staff at the Vienna based Headquarters. We are looking for a motivated part time IT Assistant and Drupal Expert. The new team member should assist ICC's IT manager in porting websites from Drupal 6 to 7 and creating new sites in Drupal 7, as well as in other IT related tasks such as maintenance of Linux servers and the internal network.

Read full job offer ...

With deep sorrow and regret the ICC family has learnt that Dr. Werner Schäfer passed away on 1^st December 2015. With his passing the German as well as the international cereal science have lost an impressive and extraordinary personality. Dr. Schäfer was ICC Deputy National Delegate of (West-) Germany over many years and it goes without saying that he was involved in the founding of the Association in 1955 in Hamburg, Germany. Also, he was leader of the ICC Working Group "Besatz". During the ICC Jubilee Conference 1995 Dr. Schäfer was awarded the Friedrich Schweitzer Medal for his distinguished service in the furtherance of the aims and ideals of ICC. Dr. Schäfer will be greatly missed by everybody who knew him. His memory will stay in ICC forever.

Please read the full obituary, written by Dr. Meinolf Lindhauer (in German).

ICC has recently extended the ICC Online Store! You can now not only purchase all ICC Standard Methods online using a credit card, and immediately download them as PDF files, but also Other ICC Publications such as Books of Abstracts and Proceedings Books from important ICC events, and the History of ICC - 50 Years and 60 Years jubilee books. In addition, there is a category of Printed-Only ICC Publications.

To celebrate the extension of the Online Store, we have opened a DECEMBER'S SPECIAL OFFER until 31 December 2015 where you can save up to 50% on several publications.

Start shopping now!

Due to extensive demand for 15^th International Cereal and Bread Congress (ICBC) from all over the world, Organizing Committee decided to extend the abstract submission deadline to 11 December 2015 for oral presentations. Please be aware that the deadline for poster abstract submission is still 11 January 2016. Abstracts may be submitted through the conference website www.icbc2016.org after having registered for an account. Please refer to the scientific topics for the accepted conference topics.

Online Registration is open and early birds are eligible for a reduced registration fee if registering before 25 January 2016.

The 15^th ICBC will be a 3.5 day event, and the focus of this international congress will be storage, processing/development and marketing of cereal products meeting consumers' needs (added values in convenience, taste, nutrition and health, safety and security). As the flagship congress of ICC and Cereal Industry, the 15^th ICBC will bring together leading researchers, scientists, food technologists and industry from around the world. For an outline of the scientific topics, please see: www.icbc2016.org/en/#scientific-topics.

The deadline for submitting abstracts for oral presentations to the 15^th International Cereal and Bread Congress (ICBC) is approaching! Abstracts for oral presentations may be submitted until 20 November 2015 through the conference website www.icbc2016.org after having registered for an account. Please refer to the scientific topics for the accepted conference topics. The deadline for submission of abstracts for poster presentations is 11 January 2016.

Online Registration is open and early birds are eligible for a reduced registration fee if registering before 24 December 2015.

The 15^th ICBC will be a 3.5 day event, and the focus of this international congress will be storage, processing/development and marketing of cereal products meeting consumers' needs (added values in convenience, taste, nutrition and health, safety and security). As the flagship congress of ICC and Cereal Industry, the 15^th ICBC will bring together leading researchers, scientists, food technologists and industry from around the world. For an outline of the scientific topics, please see: www.icbc2016.org/en/#scientific-topics.

ICC was happy to welcome many colleagues and friends to the ICC Luncheon 2015 at the AACCI Centennial Meeting in Minneapolis, USA, 21 October 2015 where Fengcheng Wang, Hamit Köksel, Joel Abecassis, John Taylor and Michaela Pichler presented recent activities and achievements, as well as upcoming projects and events of ICC. The Harald Perten Prize 2015 was presented by Jan Perten and rewarded to Prof. Dr. Jan Delcour, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium in person. The other awardee, Prof. Dr. Alberto Edel León, University of Cordoba, Argentina has received the Prize at the ICC Jubilee Luncheon 2015 at the occasion of the 3^rd Latin American Cereal Conference in Curitiba, Brazil. The presentation from the Luncheon can be viewed in the attached PDF file.

Everyone is cordially invited to the ICC Luncheon 2015 on 21 October 2015 during the AACC International Centennial Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Recent activities and achievements, as well as upcoming projects and events will be announced. Don't miss this unique opportunity to meet new colleagues and get reacquainted with old friends from our global cereal family.

Details and the agenda are available at www.icc.or.at/events/icc_luncheon_2015.

Tickets need to be purchased through registration for the AACC International Centennial Meeting 2015 - see www.aaccnet.org/meetings/annual/RegistrationHotel/Pages/MeetingRegistration.aspx. Special discounts apply for students. ICC Academy Fellows can request a complimentary ticket from ICC Headquarters (sabine [dot] gratzericc [dot] or [dot] at).

We are looking forward to seeing you in Minneapolis!

The ICC/AISTEC Conference "Grains for feeding the world", organised by the Italian Association for Cereal Science and Technology (AISTEC) in collaboration with the International Association for Cereal Science and Technology (ICC), was held at the University of Milan, 1-3 July 2015, with a theme inspired by the broader EXPO theme, "Feeding the planet, energy for life".

The event brought together more than 180 participants from more than 20 countries from around five continents, and provided opportunities for both young and senior scientists and industry representatives for networking and exchanging knowledge about grains and derived products. It also marked the 20^th anniversary of the Italian Association which happens to be in conjunction with the 60^th anniversary of ICC.

The Conference offered participants an outstanding scientific programme with eight scientific sessions and 42 speeches by speakers from all corners of the globe and about 138 posters. It addressed and attracted the global scientific community, as well as international stakeholders, to discuss new topics, products and challenges. It enabled a meeting between science, production and marketing, thanks to the ten exhibitors that actively interacted with participants and contributed to the event with their table top exhibitions of products, equipment and scientific tools, and moreover provided an insight into the state of the art of product innovation and development of the grains world.

We would like to invite you to the 15^th International Cereal and Bread Congress (ICBC) which is going to take place in Istanbul, Turkey, 18-21 April 2016. The focus of this international conference will be on the following scientific topics:

• Cereals and Cereal Product Quality Evaluation/Management
• Cereal Processing
• Bread and Cereal Foods
• Cereal Chemistry
• Nutrition and Health
• Safety and Security
• Cereal supply and consumer demand
• Research on breeding and agronomy to enhance global cereal production and quality
• Storage and Packaging
• Improving cereal quality, safety and nutrition by genetic enhancement
• Food Legumes

For detailed information concerning the different topics please see: www.icbc2016.org/en/#scientific-topics.

As the flagship congress of ICC and the cereal industry, ICBC will bring together leading researchers, scientists, food technologists and industry from around the world.

We welcome your invaluable contribution to the scientific program as oral and/or poster presentations. All abstracts will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee to be included in the scientific program and ICBC Book of Abstracts. Selected presentations of this congress will be peer reviewed and printed as full paper in special issues of SCI and SCI-expanded journals to be announced soon.

The abstract submission is now OPEN! Please go to the conference website of the 15^th ICBC at www.icbc2016.org and login. If you don't have an account yet, please sign up. Once you are logged in, please click on "Abstract Submission" in the menu on the left. The submission deadlines are 20 November 2015 for oral and 11 January 2016 for poster presentations.

The Faculty of Food Technology Osijek (PTFOS) and the International Association for Cereal Science and Technology (ICC) cordially invite you to the 8^th International Congress Flour-Bread '15 and the 10^th Croatian Congress of Cereal Technologists Brašno-Kruh '15, taking place in Opatija, Croatia, 29 - 30 October 2015.

Following the tradition of previous "Flour-Bread" congresses, the main aim of this event is to feature the latest advances in cereal science and technology. Conference languages will be English and Croatian with simultaneous translation provided.

We would like to invite you to submit an abstract for oral and poster presentations before 15 July 2015. Guidelines can be found at www.ptfos.unios.hr/flour-bread/index.php/author-guidelines.

Programme topics:

The Faculty of Food Technology Osijek (PTFOS) and the International Association for Cereal Science and Technology (ICC) cordially invite you to the 8^th International Congress Flour-Bread '15 and the 10^th Croatian Congress of Cereal Technologists Brašno-Kruh '15, taking place in Opatija, Croatia, 29 - 30 October 2015.

Following the tradition of previous "Flour-Bread" congresses, the main aim of this event is to feature the latest advances in cereal science and technology. Conference languages will be English and Croatian with simultaneous translation provided.

Programme topics:

• Breeding and quality of cereal grains
• Grain storage and milling technology
• Analytical and rheological methods
• Baking technology
• Improvers and additives
• Starch and modified starch
• Extrusion and pasta production
• Biscuit and pastry products
• Nutritional quality of cereals
• Cereal food safety
• Cereal based functional foods
• Cereal waste management and renewable energy

Important deadlines:

The ICC/AISTEC Conference takes place from 1 to 3 July 2015 in Milan which is at present hosting the EXPO 2015 exhibition. The Conference theme "Grains for feeding the world" was inspired, within the boundaries of the grain field and in a global perspective, by the broader EXPO one, which is "Feeding the planet, energy for life".

So far almost 200 persons from over 30 countries have registered! A rich and interesting program to attract the global scientific community and the stakeholders of grains has been shaped up and forty-six speakers from all corners of the globe will deliver outstanding speeches on sustainability, security, safety, technology and processing, health and nutrition and regulatory aspects. Check the final programme for details at expo2015.icc.or.at/programme. Poster sessions with about 150 posters will complement oral presentations.

Thanks to the contribution of 23 companies who already decided to give their sponsorship and/or support, this international event will also enable science and research to meet innovation and marketing. Companies will actively interact with scientists, thanks to the table top exhibition of products, equipments and scientific tools, and in so doing they will also contribute to giving an in-depth insight into the state of the art of product innovation and development in the grains area.

This event is also endorsed by many national and international major institutions and associations and by the EXPO Scientific Committee.