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A brief history of the R.A.C.I. cereal chemistry division

A.B. Blakeney

Cereal Solutions, North Ryde, Australia

Abstract

The Cereal Chemistry Division started before the current Divisional Structure of the Institute was set up. It was founded in 1951 as the Cereal Chemistry Group and was the first national group within the Institute. The inaugural meeting to form the group was held in Sydney from October 17 to 19, 1951, the venue was the theatrette of the Old Sydney Technical College. Considering the state of the Science at that time, the standard of papers was high and the program set a balance of fundamental and applied research and technology that has been maintained ever since. The 1952 conference was held in Melbourne and the reports of the methods sub-committees created considerable interest and discussion. The Group's relationship with the Institute was consolidated at this conference, and as part of the programme a joint meeting was programmed with the Victorian Branch.

At the 1964 conference it was decided to publish the proceedings and bound copies of this and all subsequent meetings have been produced. The group changed its name to the Cereal Chemistry Division to conform with the new structure of RACI at the 15th AGM held at Terrigal NSW in 1965. The Division adopted a new set of regulations developed by Wilson Lee at the 1974 Annual General Meeting in Melbourne. This resulted in the establishment of the Divisional Committee in time for the 25th Conference held at Newport, NSW in 1975. Many minor changes to the regulations have been made over the past 30 years but the structure has remained much the same and continues to serve the needs of the profession. The Division continues to hold well attended annual conferences and these conferences have become the major forum for the discussion of grain quality related issues in Australia and New Zealand.

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