reCONNECT 2025 | Breaking Down Silos in Food Companies: Bringing Together R&D and Food Safety

Communication across departments is one of the most common operational challenges in food companies today. From scaling a new recipe or updating ingredient specs to navigating regulatory updates, collaboration between Research and Development and Food Safety gets products to market quickly and responsibly. When these teams are disconnected, mistakes can happen. Allergens may be missed, packaging labels may be finalized too late, and reformulations may occur after quality checks instead of before. These issues can delay launches, frustrate teams, and weaken customer trust.

Even though the goals of R&D and Food Safety teams often overlap, their processes and timelines aren't always aligned. R&D may be focused on speed, creativity, and iteration, while Food Safety is working to uphold regulatory compliance and risk management. When these priorities are not clearly connected, collaboration suffers. To get everyone on the same page will require the right systems, structure, and a shared ownership of key decisions.

In this Day Two session of Virtual reCONNECT 2025, Laura McCready and Jennifer Falkenberg from Reser’s Fine Foods will share how they are addressing this challenge head-on.

Laura serves as Director of Food Safety and brings deep experience in regulatory compliance, supplier engagement, and process improvement, while Jennifer — Manager of R&D Technical and Ingredient — leads innovation efforts with a strong focus on ingredient strategy and technical partnerships.

Together, they have built a collaborative approach that supports both innovation and safety without sacrificing speed or accountability.

This moderated panel discussion will highlight how the Reser’s team created a more integrated workflow by improving visibility, using consistent data, and clarifying roles across departments. Laura will explain how her team has moved away from siloed documentation and one-off communication with suppliers. Instead, they have adopted tools and processes that streamline onboarding, organize approvals, and provide visibility into what has changed and why.

Listen In: How Reser's Fine Foods Achieved 99% Supplier Compliance

Jennifer will discuss how R&D is now working with food safety as part of early-stage planning. Keeping food specifications current, tracking version history, and formalizing variance requests have helped her team reduce confusion and eliminate rework. These improvements not only reduce errors but also increase confidence when scaling new products.

Topics covered in this session will include:

• Where disconnects between R&D and Food Safety typically occur
• How to define clear decision points before trials and product launches
• What shared tools and processes support faster, more accurate collaboration

Laura and Jennifer will also explain how building a shared foundation across departments has created more stability during rapid product development. By formalizing communication, tracking decisions, and assigning clear review roles, their teams have been able to reduce delays and maintain quality throughout the development process. This approach has strengthened accountability, reduced last-minute changes, and supported more efficient launches.

Whether you are revisiting your processes or building cross-functional alignment for the first time, this session will offer practical examples of how to move from reactive problem-solving to proactive planning. Come for the real-world insights and leave with ideas to strengthen collaboration between Food Safety and R&D that you can use right away.

Join Us for Virtual reCONNECT 2025: The Connected Future of the Food Industry