Call for ISO (International Organization for Standardization) Participants

Would you like the opportunity to influence international trade regulations?

In an effort to increase ISO’s U.S. participation of enthusiastic, fully-engaged experts and subject area leaders, we need your action!

ISO/TC 34 covers a variety of different areas of food standards. AOCS administers the following U.S. activities or TAGs:

   1. ISO/TC 34 Food products and ISO/TC 34/SC 17 Management systems for food safety,
   2. ISO/TC 34/SC 2  Oleaginous seeds and fruits and oilseed meals and ISO/TC 34/SC 11 Animal and vegetable fats and oils, and
   3. ISO/TC 34/SC 16 Horizontal methods for molecular biomarker analysis.

If you are interested, please complete the 2012 ISO Participation Form no later than September 14, 2012.

As noted above, AOCS administers U.S. TAGs; thus, we will only be able to accept participants with U.S. addresses or representing U.S. employers. Others may apply to be observers.

ISO is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards. It is composed of a network of national standards institutes in 163 countries, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, which coordinates the system. In the United States, ANSI (American National Standards Institute) acts as the national standards institute. The many areas of standards development are covered by dedicated Technical Committees (TC), Subcommittees (SC) and Working Groups (WG), each requiring the formation of distinct Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs).

ISO forms a bridge between the public and private sectors, which enables consensus on solutions that meet both the broader needs of society and the market-driven requirements of business through the voluntary involvement of all interested parties.

For more information, please view the ISO/TC34 Food Products Manual containing detailed information on the benefits of participation, functions/responsibilities of a U.S. TAG, membership, funding, common ISO abbreviations, the standards development process, and general data (contacts, scope, liaisons, SC/WG, and a meeting calendar).

If you have further questions, please contact the AOCS Technical Department.