Institute of Food Technologists to Host Webinar on GRAS Ingredients and Regulations Featuring Former FDA Official

CHICAGO – February 7, 2024 – The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), a nonprofit scientific organization with global members spanning academia, government, and industry, will host “Decoding GRAS: Regulatory Understanding in the New Product Development Process,” a free webinar that will explore the intricacies of GRAS determinations during the product development process. The webinar, which is open to the public, will be held Friday, March 1, from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. CDT.

GRAS, which stands for “Generally Recognized as Safe,” is a designation applied to ingredients that have been recognized as safe by qualified experts. The upcoming webinar will provide key insight to the regulatory journey of determining an ingredient as GRAS and will equip food and beverage professionals with the skills needed to efficiently navigate the process. “Decoding GRAS” will also serve as a preview to a Short Course of similar name, “GRAS Mastery: Regulator Understanding in the New Product Development Process” at this year’s IFT FIRST, where participants will earn a course certificate and gain access to crucial resources on GRAS ingredient determinations.

“Understanding the complexities around GRAS ingredients is essential in the product development process,” said IFT Chief Science and Technology Officer Bryan Hitchcock. “The upcoming webinar, as well as the Short Course at this year’s IFT FIRST, will provide indispensable knowledge that food and beverage professionals can use to strategically tackle this consequential step in the product development journey.”

The webinar will feature former FDA official Steven Gendel, PhD. An internationally recognized expert on food safety, assessing new food products, and food policy and regulation, Gendel brings with him over two decades of experience advancing science and policy in the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. As the first FDA Food Allergen Coordinator, he contributed to the creation of agency policies, guidance documents, and regulations.

In addition to the “Decoding GRAS” webinar and the IFT FIRST Short Course, IFT will host a members-only webinar that covers the FDA’s food ingredient regulatory programs, including regulations around GRAS ingredients. “An Introduction to FDA’s Food Ingredient Regulatory Programs” will feature Katie Overbey, PhD, MS, who serves as a Regulatory Review Specialist at the FDA. Attendees will gain essential knowledge around regulatory pathways from Overbey and gain access to resources that can aid them in the process of identifying the regulatory status of ingredients. This exclusive event will be held Tuesday, April 2, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. CDT.

Register for the “Decoding GRAS” webinar.

Attendee and exhibitor registration for IFT FIRST opens in March. To start planning, go to iftevent.org.

About Institute of Food Technologists

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is a global organization of over 11,000 individual members from more than 100 countries committed to advancing the science of food. Since 1939, IFT has brought together the brightest minds in food science, technology and related professions from academia, government, and industry to solve the world’s greatest food challenges. IFT works to ensure that its members have the resources they need to learn, grow, and innovate to advance the science of food as the population and the world evolve. IFT believes that science and innovation is essential to ensuring a global food supply that is sustainable, safe, nutritious, and accessible to all. For more information, please visit ift.org.

Media Contact

Dennis Van Milligen
Director, Public and Media Relations
Institute of Food Technologists
630-853-3022
[email protected]