Former FDA Food Safety Leader, IFT Product Development Expert Headline Free 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, is hosting a webinar on “Formulating Functional Foods: What Works, What Doesn’t” on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 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.

The webinar will also 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. 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.

“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. The challenge lies in developing a deep scientific understanding of ingredients and applying that understanding to the complexity of food production and health,” said Jay Gilbert, PhD, Director, CoDeveloper & Digital Products. “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, PhD, MPH, Principal Consultant and Owner, Katalyst Consulting LLC

Renee 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 numerous R&D teams overcome hurdles such as shelf life, reformulation, food quality and safety, and regulatory compliance. 

Meanwhile, Willette 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. While serving as a consumer safety officer with the produce safety staff at FDA, she led the agency’s first environmental assessment to investigate the 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 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. 

About Institute of Food Technologists

Since 1939, the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) has served as the voice of the global food science community. IFT advocates for science, technology, and research to address the world’s greatest food challenges, guiding our community of more than 200,000. IFT convenes professionals from around the world – from producers and product developers to innovators and researchers across food, nutrition, and public health – with a shared mission to help create a global food supply that is sustainable, safe, nutritious, and accessible to all. IFT provides its growing community spanning academia, industry, and government with the resources, connections, and opportunities necessary to stay ahead of a rapidly evolving food system as IFT helps feed the minds that feed the world. For more information, please visit ift.org.