Baking Industry History

The first National Convention of the Master Bakers is held in Boston, MA and the Association of Master Bakers is formed. This Association would later become ABA.   

The Biscuit & Cracker Manufacturers’ Association (B&CMA) was established in Cincinnati, Ohio. The international trade organization represented biscuit and cracker manufacturers as well as suppliers to the baking industry. The B&CMA’s mission was to bring educational training programs and networking opportunities to its members. Read more. 

Herbert Johnson of the Hobart Manufacturing Company invents the first electric stand mixer.  

The American Bakers Association is incorporated in Chicago. It consisted of 845 members, the most represented states were Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York.  

The Baking Equipment Manufacturers Association (BEMA) is founded. Members were primarily family-owned, US-based equipment manufacturers selling to the US wholesale bakers.  

The American Society of Baker Engineers is established (now American Society of Baking). 

Otto Frederick Rohwedder invents the first bread loaf slicing machine. It debuts at a trade fair and becomes available to the public. Read more here.

When male teenagers graduating from high school couldn’t pass their physical examinations, the enrichment standards for baked goods provided a vehicle for improved nutrition. ABA’s tagline at the time was, “Bread is the Staff of Life.”    

ABA focuses on the promotion and marketing of bread and baked goods. ABA trains soldiers to be “expert bakers” during the war.

BEMA and ABA work together to sponsor the first Bakery Expo since 1935, when the annual expo was put on hold due to World War II. The event draws 271 exhibitors and 10,000 attendees. Read more.

Enriched bread standard is finalized, thanks in part to ABA’s marketing efforts.

ABA becomes more focused on legislative and regulatory policies that impact the baking industry.  

ABA moves its headquarters from Chicago, Illinois to Washington, DC.  

The Bakery Expo is renamed the International Baking Industry Exposition or IBIE. Read more about IBIE's history.

ABA is instrumental in working with FDA on the addition of folic acid to enriched bread which was authorized in 1996 and then implemented in 1998. This addition to the enriched bread standard was pivotal in preventing neural birth defects (spina bifda) in infants and was an economical source for expectant mothers.

In the early 2000s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) deemed folic acid enrichment as one of its most outstanding US public health achievements in the past decade as it lowered neural tube defects by 36% in American infants. Read more.

ABA Celebrates its centennial year.

The American Society of Baking creates the Baking Hall of Fame as a tribute to those individuals that have made a significant contribution to the advancement of the U.S. baking industry. Read more.

ABA merges with the Biscuit & Cracker Manufacturer’s Association. 

ABA celebrates 125 years as an organization.