The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) will host a webinar, titled, “Formulating Functional Foods: What Works, What Doesn’t” on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, from 11:00 A.M.–12:00 P.M. CT. Registration is now open.

The webinar will reveal the science, strategy, and regulations behind formulating functional foods that offer energy, immunity, focus, and gut health benefits, 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 artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Featured speakers include:

• Renee Leber, Customer Success Manager, CoDeveloper, IFT: Ms. Leber had more than 10 years of product development experience working for Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Freshway Foods, and U.S. 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.
• Willette M. Crawford, Ph.D., M.P.H., Principal Consultant and Owner, Katalyst Consulting LLC: Dr. Crawford is an expert in food safety, previously working on 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 on FDA’s produce safety staff, she led the agency’s first environmental assessment to investigate an important Escherichia coli O145 outbreak associated with romaine lettuce. Dr. 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 franchise.

The webinar is sponsored by CoDeveloper, IFT’s proprietary AI-powered research and development (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 AI to connect users to IFT’s library of peer-reviewed research and published content while developing market-competitive products.