ISF organizes international congresses on fats and oils, with each congress headed by an internationally known scientist or technologist who acts as president of ISF until the following congress.

The first ISF Congress took place in Milano in 1956. Since then, ISF Congresses have been held in the following locations under the leadership of the following ISF presidents:

1956	Milano	C. Jacini
1957	Paris	C. Paquot
1958	Sevilla	J. Martinez-Moreno
1959	Graz	G. Gorbach
1960	Gdansk	N. Niewiadomski
1962	London	E. C. Woodroofe
1964	Hamburg	H.P. Kaufmann
1966	Budapest	J. Hollo
1968	Rotterdam	J. Boldingh
1970	Chicago	W. O. Lundberg
1972	Göteborg	S. Bergstrom
1974	Milano	R. Paoletti
1976	Marseille	M. Naudet
1978	Brighton	K. H. Velthuis
1980	New York	S. S. Chang
1983	Budapest	J. Hollo
1985	New Delhi	S. C. Singhal
1986	Münster	B. W. Werdelmann
1988	Tokyo	A. Mori
1991	The Hague	J. Nieuwenhuis
1992	Toronto	J. Beare-Rogers
1995	The Hague	J.Nieuwenhuis
1997	Kuala Lumpur	A. Ong
1999	Brighton	D. Robinson
2001	Berlin	F. Spener
2003	Bordeaux	S. Claude
2005	Prague	P. Seifert

ISF Congresses often have been arranged as joint meetings in collaboration with national organizations interested in lipids: in Chicago in 1970, in New York in 1980, in Toronto in 1992 jointly with the American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS); in Göteborg in 1972 jointly with Lipidforum; in New Delhi in 1985 jointly with the Oil Technologists' Association of India; in Münster in 1986 jointly with DGF; and in Tokyo in 1988 jointly with the Japan Oil Chemists' Society. Such joint ventures have always been very fruitful, as shown by the attractive and comprehensive programs and the large numbers of attendees.

All of the Congresses have been scientifically successful, though several have been adversely influenced by political situations. The 1983 Congress in Budapest was originally scheduled for Gdansk, but had to be moved late in the planning because of labor strikes in Poland. The 1985 ISF meeting in New Delhi had to be suddenly postponed only hours before it opened because of the assassination of India's Prime Minister.

In 1991, a Congress was organized in The Hague but the Gulf War intervened. After the outbreak of the war, registration stopped completely. Many companies issued travel restrictions and as a result, speakers canceled their contributions. Under these circumstances there was no other option than to cancel the Congress. This event eventually led to the restructuring of ISF to what it is today.

In 2001, the Congress was hindered once again--this time by terrorist attacks in the United States just four days prior to the beginning. All air travel into and out of the U.S. was halted in the wake of the attacks. The local organizing committee, with additional help from the Secretariat via telephone, assumed on-site management of the Congress and did an outstanding job of presenting the program to the delegates. Because of its leadership, the Congress was able to proceed as planned.