2026 AOAC INTERNATIONAL Annual Meeting & Exposition
The AOAC INTERNATIONAL Annual Meeting: A Unique Analytical Science Opportunity
The 2026 AOAC INTERNATIONAL Annual Meeting & Exposition will be held from August 29 to September 2, 2026, at the JW Marriott Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
The AOAC Annual Meeting & Exposition provides unparalleled professional development, networking, and collaboration in methods-based science.
- Businesses: Meet scientific and regulatory experts and engage with new trends and standards.
- Scientists: Build professional expertise and network with your community to share information and best practices.
- Regulators: Leverage unprecedented opportunity for stakeholder collaboration on complex testing and analysis challenges, helping improve compliance and public safety.
- Academia: Engage with colleagues – both students and faculty – at all career and research levels
Keep Pace with Innovation
- Take advantage of emerging methods, best practices, and trending topics like food fraud and cannabis purity and potency.
- Discover new technologies, from DNA authentication to genomic microbial identification.
Keynote Speaker – Dr. Mindy Brashears
Dr. Mindy M. Brashears is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Under Secretary for Food Safety. Dr. Brashears previously served as Under Secretary for Food Safety from 2020-2021, and Deputy Under Secretary in 2019. Dr. Brashears returns to USDA from Texas Tech University where she was a Paul Whitfield Horn Distinguished Professor of Food Safety and Public Health, the Roth and Letch Family Endowed Chair for Food Safety and the Director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence.
Dr. Brashears’ research program has advanced food safety in meat and poultry production, with a focus on on public health. Her work evaluated interventions in pre- and post-harvest environments and antimicrobial drug resistance in animal feeding systems. She has led international research teams across the globe to enhance food safety, security, and sustainable agriculture systems. She has also taught courses in food microbiology and food safety and provided industry training in Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points , sanitation, recalls and food security. Dr. Brashears has an extensive publication record in peer-reviewed journals and has delivered keynote addresses here in the U.S. and abroad. Her research has resulted in more than 20 patents and patents pending for innovations in food safety.
Beyond academia, Dr. Brashears has held leadership roles on boards and advisory committees, including the American Meat Science Association, the Development Council, the International Stockman’s Educational Foundation, and the Protein Pact. She was a founding member of the SAFE Think Tank and has chaired the National Alliance for Food Safety and Security and the USDA’s multi-state research group. Her contributions have earned national and international recognition, including induction into the Meat Industry Hall of Fame, Fellow status in the American Meat Science Association (AMSA) and the National Academy of Inventors, and numerous awards from leading associations. Top among them include the International Association for Food Protection Laboratorian Award, the AMSA Signal Service Fellow Award, the AMSA Distinguished Research Award, and the AMSA Distinguished Industry Service Award. She was named among the National Provisioner’s Top 25 Future Icons in the Beef Industry and honored as an Outstanding Graduate of Distinction at Oklahoma State University.
Under Dr. Brashears’ leadership, FSIS will advance its core mission of safeguarding public health while enhancing these efforts through the implementation of Secretary Rollins’ Five-Point Plan to Bolster Food Safety.
Harvey W. Wiley Award Winner – Dr. Brendon Gill
Dr. Brendon Gill is the recipient of the 2026 Harvey W. Wiley Award, the Association’s highest honor for lifetime scientific achievement. Gill is a principal research scientist at the Fonterra Nutritionals Laboratory in Waitoa, New Zealand, where he’s worked for over 20 years. He is renowned for his work developing methods for measuring vitamins and micronutrients in infant formula. He will speak on “Advancing Analytical Chemistry in Dairy and Nutrition.”
- AOAC INTERNATIONAL profile and content on LabRulezGCMS
- AOAC INTERNATIONAL profile and content on LabRulezLCMS
- AOAC INTERNATIONAL profile and content on LabRulezICPMS
Registration
Registration Rates
Early Bird Fees (4/1/26 – 7/2/26)
- AOAC Member: $734
- Non-Member: $870
- Developing Country: $350
- AOAC Student Member: $160
- Student Non-Member: $215
- AOAC Exhibitor: $734
- U.S. Government/ Academic Employee: $550
- Early Career: $550
- One-Day Registration: $350
- Guest Registration: $250
Advanced Reg Fees (7/3/26 – 8/11/26)
- AOAC Member: $844
- Non-Member: $970
- Developing Country: $350
- AOAC Student Member: $160
- Student Non-Member: $215
- AOAC Exhibitor: $844
- U.S. Government/ Academic Employee: $844
- Early Career: $844
- One-Day Registration: $350
- Guest Registration: $250
Onsite Reg Fees (8/12/26 – 9/2/26)
- AOAC Member: $954
- Non-Member: $1,070
- Developing Country: $350
- AOAC Student Member: $160
- Student Non-Member: $215
- AOAC Exhibitor: $954
- U.S. Government/ Academic Employee: $954
- Early Career: $954
- One-Day Registration: $350
- Guest Registration: $250
Members Save on Registration
AOAC Members save on meeting registration fees! If you are not already an AOAC Member, learn more about the benefits of being a member.
Developing Country Registration
Individuals whose primary legal country of residence is included in the List of Developing Countries in the World Development Report published by the World Bank. Countries listed in the Lower to Upper Middle-Income categories are considered developing countries and qualify for the rate.
AOAC Guest Registration Policy
A guest is a spouse/friend/significant other of a presenter/speaker. Someone not in the field of analytical chemistry/microbiology but solely at the Annual Meeting to support a speaker. Not a business associate, staff colleague or fellow student. Guest registration is $250.
Contact AOAC Customer Service, [email protected], to add a guest to your registration.
Guest registration includes:
- Entry into the exhibit hall
- Sunday Exhibit Hall Grand Opening & President’s Welcome Reception
- Monday Keynote Address & Awards Ceremony
- Tuesday Annual Meeting Celebration
Cancellation/Refund Policy
Requests to cancel a registration must be submitted by email to AOAC INTERNATIONAL Customer Service ([email protected]) no later than Tuesday, August 11, 2026, and will require a $50.00 administrative fee. No refunds will be issued for cancellations received after this date. Substitutions from within the same organization are permitted up to five days before the event and will not incur an administrative fee.
Letter of Invitation
If you require an AOAC Annual Meeting Invitation Letter for Visa purposes, please contact Lauren Chelf at [email protected].
Call for Poster Abstracts
- The AOAC Call for Poster Abstracts is now open!
- Poster Abstract Submission Deadline: Thursday, July 2, 2026, 2:00 PM ET
- Late submissions will not be accepted.
Poster presenters MUST attend the AOAC Annual Meeting to submit a poster. The Annual Meeting will be in-person only. Posters will be available for viewing in the Poster Hall of the JW Marriott Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Posters and abstracts will also be available on the AOAC electronic program (to registered attendees).
To submit a poster abstract to the 2026 Annual Meeting, you must first register for the Annual Meeting. Once the payment is processed, a registration confirmation email with a link to the Call for Poster Abstracts submission site will be sent to you. All poster abstracts must be submitted through Sessionboard. If you submitted a proposal (session, speaker, or poster) in Sessionboard in 2025 or 2026 for the AOAC Annual Meeting and you plan on using the same email that you previously used, simply login to Sessionboard through the link on your registration confirmation email. If you are new to Sessionboard, use the link and create an account. Email submissions will not be accepted. If your poster is not accepted and you decide by Tuesday, August 11, 2026, not to attend the Annual Meeting, your registration will be refunded in full.
Poster Tracks:
- Agriculture, Environment, & Biostimulants – Novel and/or newly validated chemical methods related to the analysis of environmental and agriculture samples, including biostimulants
- Bioinformatics, Chemometrics, & Data Analytics – Novel approaches for use of advanced pattern recognition and other tools for interpretation of data to ensure food and supplement quality and safety
- Botanicals & Dietary Supplements – Novel and/or newly validated chemical methods or other developments to support potency, safety, or identity of botanicals and dietary supplements
- Chemical Contaminants & Residues – Novel and/or newly validated methods to determine chemical contaminants and residues externally added, naturally present, or produced during processing of foods or supplements
- Food Additives & Colors – Novel and/or newly validated methods to determine food additives or colors
- Food Authenticity & Food Fraud – Novel approaches to determine truthfulness or identity of ingredients and to detect deliberate fraudulent actions on foods or supplements
- Food Nutrition – Novel and/or newly validated methods to determine nutritional content of foods
- Gluten & Food Allergens – Novel and/or newly validated methods to detect gluten and/or food allergens
- Hemp & Cannabis – Novel and/or newly validated chemical methods or other developments to support potency and safety of cannabis and cannabis-containing products, including hemp
- Laboratory Management, Compliance, & Accreditation – New approaches and developments in laboratory management, compliance, and accreditation
- Microbiology & Molecular Biology Methods – Novel and/or newly validated microbiological methods for food and the environment, including Performance Tested MethodsSM
- Novel Foods & Ingredients – New approaches for evaluating quality and safety of novel foods and ingredients
- Quality Assurance & Reference Materials – New approaches and developments in quality assurance, including newly released of reference materials or their use to support quality assurance
2026 Annual Meeting Sponsorship Opportunities
AOAC invites you to participate as a sponsor for the 140th Annual Meeting & Exposition. Sponsorship provides an opportunity to position your company/organization as a supporter of AOAC. Please review the listings below to select the item or event that best aligns with your sponsorship goals. Reservations will be taken in the order they are received. Partial sponsorship may be available.
Sponsorship Opportunities
- Exhibit Hall Grand Opening & President’s Welcome Reception: $10,000
- Annual Meeting Celebration: $10,000
- Exhibit Hall Lunch (Monday or Tuesday): $7,500/ea
- New Member and First-Time Attendee Welcome Reception: $6,000
- Reception for TDLM Members: $5,000
- Reception for TDRM Members: $5,000
- Exhibit Hall/Poster Presentation AM or PM Coffee Break: $2,500/ea
- New Member and First Time Meeting Attendee Orientation: $1,500
- One-minute video to be played before any one scientific session: $1,000
All Sponsors Receive:
- Company logo displayed before the start of the Annual Meeting Keynote Address & Awards Ceremony
- Signage at the sponsored event
- Company logo on the Annual Meeting Entrance Unit
- Company logo on the Annual Meeting Electronic Program
- Company name listed in the Electronic Program Schedule
- Company name listed on the Annual Meeting Schedule web page
- Company name listed on the Annual Meeting Schedule at a Glance distributed on-site at the Meeting
To become a sponsor, please contact Lauren Chelf, AOAC Director of Meetings & Expositions at [email protected].
2026 Annual Meeting Exhibitors
The AOAC Exposition is designed to be an integral part of your learning experience, with a superb range of new services and technologies to examine and featuring leading suppliers to the analytical communities. The Exposition offers an outstanding opportunity to learn about resources available to enhance both your individual and company performance.
2026 Exhibitors
Company / Booth
- A Chemtek Inc. / 205
- A2LA / 209
- Agilent Technologies / 201 & 203
- bioMérieux, Inc. / 112
- Biotage / 108
- Bruker / 211 & 213
- CAMAG Scientific, Inc. / 102
- CEM Corporation / 221
- cmc Instruments GmbH / 106
- GL Sciences, Inc. / 307
- HORIBA / 305
- LECO Corporation / 107
- Manhage / 104
- Phenomenex / 304
- Phytolab GMBH & Co. KG / 100
- Pickering Laboratories, Inc. / 113
- ProGnosis Biotech / 115
- R-Biopharm Rhone / 111
- Restek Corporation / 220
- SCIEX / 215 & 217
- Shimadzu Scientific Instruments / 105
- Thermo Fisher Scientific / 110
- Waters Corporation / 100 & 102
- Z-Spec, Inc. / 212
AOAC Champions & Sponsors
AOAC Engagement Packages offer opportunities for organizations to form partnerships and continue long-standing relationships with the Association. The Champions represent the highest level of engagement with AOAC.
Thank You to Our 2026 AOAC Champions!
2026 AOAC Champions
Venue
- JW Marriott Indianapolis
- 10 S. West Street
- Indianapolis, IN 46204 USA
- Check-In Time: 4:00 PM
- Check-Out Time: 11:00 AM
Rates & Reservations
Cut-Off Date for Reservations at the Discounted Rate: Friday, August 7, 2026
AOAC has negotiated a special guestroom rate of $199.00 USD single/double per night plus taxes for a standard room. The government rate for current U.S. Federal Government employees is $133.00 USD single/double per night plus taxes for a standard room. There is very limited availability at this rate, and you must show your Federal Government ID when you check in at the JW Marriott.
