Former FDA Food Safety Leader, IFT Product Development Expert Headline Webinar on Formulating Functional Foods

CHICAGO – The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), a nonprofit scientific association committed to advancing the science of food and its application across the global food system, will host a webinar, “Formulating Functional Foods: What Works, What Doesn’t,” on Wednesday, Dec. 10, from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. CT.

The webinar will reveal the science, strategy and regulations behind formulating functional foods that offer consumer-mandated benefits such as energy, immunity, focus and gut health while still creating effective, appealing products, said IFT. It will help attendees successfully navigate U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) regulations while optimizing ingredient bioavailability and avoiding formulation pitfalls using AI technology.

The webinar is sponsored by CoDeveloper, IFT’s proprietary AI-powered R&D platform. CoDeveloper delivers science into the product development process, accelerating formula development and overcoming technical roadblocks, said IFT. Built by IFT’s team of food scientists for food scientists, it harnesses the computing speed of AI to connect users to IFT’s 85-plus years of peer-reviewed research and published content while they’re developing market-competitive products, said the organization.

“Food scientists face the delicate balancing act of creating functional foods that not only deliver health benefits but also meet the taste, texture, and convenience expectations of consumers," said Jay Gilbert, Ph.D., director, CoDeveloper & Digital Products. "The challenge lies in developing a deep scientific understanding of ingredients and applying that understanding to the complexity of food production and health. Not only will this webinar address that delicate balance, but it will dive into the pivotal role AI must play in accelerating formulation by anticipating ingredient interactions, optimizing nutrient delivery and modeling consumer preferences, effectively turning complexity into innovation.”

Featured speakers:

• Renee Leber, customer success manager, CoDeveloper, Institute of Food Technologists
• Willette M. Crawford, Ph.D., MPH, principal consultant and pwner, Katalyst Consulting

Leber has more than 10 years of product development experience working for Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Freshway Foods and US Foods before joining IFT. An expert in food additives and ingredients, Leber has helped R&D teams overcome hurdles such as shelf life, reformulation, food quality and safety and regulatory compliance, said IFT. 

Crawford is a top expert in food safety, previously working on the FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), including regulatory aspects of functional and healthy foods, traceability and supply chain, said IFT. While serving as a consumer safety officer with the produce safety staff at FDA, she led the agency’s first environmental assessment to investigate an E. coli O145 outbreak associated with romaine lettuce. Crawford also worked for Chick-fil-A Supply as principal program lead, food safety and quality assurance, where she helped build a logistics and distribution network for the national restaurant franchise.

Register here. To learn more about functional foods, go to www.ift.org.