Panel to Discuss Regulatory Hurdles for Probiotics
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Natural Products Association (NPA) today announced a panel featuring the top experts in the field of probiotics. The panel, Regulatory Hurdles for Probiotics, will feature Emily Gregoire, Global Regulatory Affairs Partner-Probiotics for Chr Hansen, Amy Smith, Regulatory Global Lead for Dupont Probiotics, and Solange Henoud, Global Regulatory Affairs Director for Lallemand.
“There has been a significant rise in demand for probiotics and this panel brings together the most innovative companies that are behind giving consumers more options for their health and wellness, said Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., NPA President and CEO. “We have a great program in place, and we are confident that attendees are still engaged and have the same access to the world’s leading experts in the natural products industry.
Emily Gregoire graduated from Alverno College with a B.S. in Chemistry. She has also completed master’s level courses in Food Science and Food Law. Emily has worked at Chr. Hansen for 10 years; the last 4 of those being in Regulatory Affairs where she is frequently involved in GRAS and NDIN activities for both food cultures and probiotics.
Amy Smith earned a doctorate degree in Microbiology from Louisiana State University, minoring in virology and molecular biology. After years conducting research on microbial pathogenesis and molecular detection methods, Amy began a career with DuPont, and is currently the Regulatory Global Lead for DuPont Probiotics. Amy’s ability to understand science, regulation, and real-world industry promotes a forward-thinking probiotics industry platform for the success of DuPont probiotics, all at the current pace of immense industry growth.
Solange Henoud leads regulatory affairs at the global level at Lallemand Health Solutions, actively represents the company in trade associations and is chair of the regulatory affairs committee at the International Probiotics Association (IPA). Henoud has been involved in many successful company and industry initiatives advocating probiotics to Health authorities such as Health Canada, the US Food and Drug Administration, the Brazilian Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitària, the Argentinian Legislation and Standarization of National Food Institute, Europe, Asia and other regulatory bodies over the globe. The achievements she is mostly proud of with her team are the specific health claims in various indications approved for Lallemand products and the footprint Lallemand products have in more than 54 countries under different regulatory categories including supplements, foods, food for special purposes and drugs. She has worked at Lallemand for 12 years after entering the regulatory affairs arena when immigrated to Canada from her native Lebanon where she studied science, architecture and ran her own practice.
The Big Natural
November 30-December 1
Offering two days of industry-driven, educational sessions, workshop programming, case studies and interactive discussions. Plus, there will be ample time for networking and benchmarking. The Big Natural will bring together industry leaders, innovators and government officials who will share insights that will educate, empower and spark innovative ideas to drive the industry forward.
- Industry-specific educational sessions developed by you to address your most pressing business and regulatory concerns as an industry such as probiotic regulatory hurdles with Amy Smith from DuPont Nutrition.
- Executive-level speakers who will provide in-depth discussion of real-world challenges/issues as well as practical lessons you can take back to your company and implement across your operations after hearing presentations from Rich Cleland of FTC and Robert Durkin from AGG, but formerly Deputy Director of FDA’s ODSP.
- Focus on business innovation, finance, investment and global market opportunities relevant to the natural products space with David Thibodeau from Wellvest Capital.
- Breakout sessions that will explore discrete issues faced by business unit and department heads spanning regulatory, compliance, legal, marketing and business functions
Open to both NPA Members and Non-Members, The Big Natural will attract a diverse cross-section of senior executives spanning the C-suite as well as department leadership within the Retail, CPG, Natural, Health Foods, Supplements and Investment sectors with budget and/or human capital responsibility in the following areas:
- Strategy & Product Development
- Legal, Regulatory & Compliance
- Digital Initiatives, Branding, Marketing and Advertising
- Merchandising, Distribution & E-Commerce
- Analytics and Big Data
- Customer Experience and Customer Service
- Business Development & Finance
- Quality & Scientific Affairs
- Probiotics and Novel Ingredients
- Medical/Functional Foods
- Sports Nutrition
- Defining Natural
