# Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos

> research institute in Spain

**Wikidata**: [Q5918022](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5918022)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/instituto-de-agroquimica-y-tecnologia-de-alimentos

## Summary
The Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos (IATA) is a Spanish public research institute founded in 1957 that investigates food chemistry, nutrition and food technology. It operates as a joint centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the University of Valencia, with its headquarters in Paterna, Valencia.

## Key Facts
- Founded in 1957 as part of Spain’s national research infrastructure
- Parent organisations: Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and University of Valencia
- Legal status: research institute (ISNI 0000 0001 1945 7738, ROR 018m1s709)
- Headquarters located in Paterna, Valencia, Spain (39.5149° N, –0.4228° W)
- Official working language: Spanish
- Member of the open-access scholarly-publishing network AmeliCA since 2018
- Website: https://www.iata.csic.es/es
- Dialnet author ID: 860817; Library of Congress authority no.: n86008512

## FAQs
### Q: What does IATA stand for?
A: IATA is the Spanish acronym for Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos; it is also written without accents as “Instituto de Agroquimica y Tecnologia de Alimentos”.

### Q: Who runs the institute?
A: IATA is jointly administered by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the University of Valencia, making it a mixed centre dependent on both institutions.

### Q: Where is the institute located?
A: The headquarters and principal laboratories are in Paterna, a municipality within the metropolitan area of Valencia, eastern Spain.

### Q: When was the institute created?
A: It was established in 1957 and has operated continuously under the CSIC umbrella since then.

## Why It Matters
IATA is Spain’s longest-standing public research centre devoted to the chemistry and technology of food. By combining basic research with applied science, it underpins national food-safety regulations, drives innovation in food preservation and packaging, and trains generations of Spanish food scientists. Its dual affiliation with CSIC and the University of Valencia creates a unique bridge between national policy-oriented research and academic education, allowing rapid transfer of laboratory discoveries to industry and classrooms alike. In a country where agri-food exports exceed 50 billion euros annually, IATA’s work on food quality, shelf-life extension and functional ingredients directly supports competitiveness and consumer trust. The institute’s 2018 entry into AmeliCA also signals a commitment to open-access science, ensuring that its findings on nutrition and food security reach researchers worldwide without paywalls.

## Notable For
- One of the first CSIC institutes created specifically for food science (1957)
- Joint governance model: simultaneously part of both Spain’s largest public research body (CSIC) and a major university (University of Valencia)
- Continuous operation for more than six decades from the same Valencia-region campus
- Pioneer among Spanish food institutes in adopting an open-access publishing mandate via AmeliCA membership
- Recognised authority file coverage: VIAF, ISNI, Library of Congress, Biblioteca Nacional de España, Dialnet, RINGGOLD, GRID and others

## Body
### Mission and Scope
IATA’s statutory mission is to generate knowledge in agro-chemistry and food technology and to transfer that knowledge to industry, regulators and society. Research lines historically centred on food chemistry, enzymology, microbiology, nutrition and consumer science.

### Governance and Structure
Created by CSIC in 1957, the institute became a “mixed centre” through collaboration agreements with the University of Valencia. This status means that CSIC provides core funding and scientific coordination, while the university supplies academic staff, student pipelines and campus infrastructure. Day-to-day management is led by a CSIC-appointed director who reports to both parent bodies.

### Physical Campus
The headquarters sit on CSIC-owned land in the Parque Científico de Paterna, 12 km northwest of Valencia city centre. Geocoordinates registered in Wikidata are 39.5149° N, –0.4228° W. The site hosts pilot plants, analytical-service labs and experimental kitchens.

### Identifiers and Cataloguing
To facilitate international citation and data linkage, IATA maintains persistent identifiers across major library and research systems:
- ISNI: 0000 0001 1945 7738
- ROR: 018m1s709
- GRID: grid.419051.8
- VIAF: 169260612
- GND: 5194127-2
- Ringgold: 83071
- DIR3 code within Spanish public-sector registry: EA0020996

### Language and Outreach
Spanish is the working language for internal documentation, seminars and the public website. Since 2018 the institute has aligned itself with the AmeliCA open-access consortium, making accepted manuscripts freely available in the AmeliCA repository.

### Historical Note
The 1957 inception places IATA among the earliest wave of specialised food-science institutes in continental Europe, predating several sister CSIC centres focused on nutrition and agriculture.

## References

1. GRID Release 2017-01-10
2. Virtual International Authority File
3. Integrated Authority File
4. Library of Congress Authorities
5. IdRef
6. datos.bne.es
7. GRID
8. Aligned ISNI and Ringgold identifiers for institutions
9. [Source](https://administracionelectronica.gob.es/ctt/resources/Soluciones/238/Descargas/Listado%20Unidades%20AGE.xlsx?idIniciativa=238&idElemento=2741)