The biggest message from SupplySide Global 2025: Food safety and quality assurance are no longer just technical jobs. They are strategic roles focused on predicting and managing business risk.

Held in Las Vegas, SupplySide Global 2025 brought together over 20,000 industry professionals, including top players like PepsiCo, Unilever, and Walmart. Our co-founder, Yanyan Li, attended the conference, joined several sessions, and had a number of productive conversations.

The core theme? You should shift your QA mindset from reactive auditing (checking after the fact) to proactive risk management (stopping problems before they start). For food manufacturers sourcing ingredients globally, here are the non-negotiable shifts your team should make now.

1. Navigating the U.S. Compliance Rift and Consumer Trust Crisis

The regulatory landscape is getting even more complicated. Federal changes are mixing with state-level rules, creating a major challenge for sourcing teams.

The Growing Challenges Around GRAS Disclosure

A key topic at the conference was the proposed “Better Food Disclosure Act of 2025,” championed by Senator Roger Marshall. This proposed legislation seeks to fundamentally change how the FDA oversees substances classified as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) by requiring food companies to report all ingredients to the agency, effectively closing the current GRAS loophole.

However, the Americans for Ingredient Transparency (AFIT), a coalition of major food and beverage corporations, actively opposes the bill as currently drafted, because it doesn't stop states from banning specific ingredients (like synthetic food dyes). Industry leaders say this lack of federal control creates a costly "patchwork of laws" across the country, making national supply chains impossible to manage.

Your QA Action: You should audit your ingredient portfolio. Prepare to report any previously non-reported GRAS substances. Also, keep an eye on state laws to avoid using ingredients that might be banned regionally, which could fragment your supply chain.

Foundational Vendor Checks Still Rule

Amidst the high-level policy talks, experts reinforced the need for strong vendor qualification. Sessions focused on foundational rules:

• Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP): Specific training covered rules like 21 CFR 111.

• Verification: Discussions highlighted using third-party verification standards, specifically naming NSF/ANSI 455-2 for dietary supplement companies, to ensure suppliers meet global quality benchmarks.

Your QA Action: Global scaling requires suppliers who adhere to these formalized, third-party standards. Don't rely only on internal audits, and demand verifiable proof of quality.

Innovation vs. The Trust Crisis

The show was full of exciting new food ingredients, but experts cautioned that innovation must be built on a foundation of trust.

• Hot Trends: Functional foods focused on cognitive health, the Gut-Brain Axis, and metabolic health (like natural GLP-1 alternatives) are dominating the market.

• The Problem: Many experts warned about a "Consumer Trust Crisis." Consumers are highly skeptical. A striking 90% of consumers demand products that are third-party tested. The industry is focused on high-tech ideas while ignoring basic safety questions.

Your QA Action: To launch any novel ingredient (like new GLP-1 alternatives), you must ensure scientific proof backs up every claim. Your QA team should prioritize transparent, third-party testing to satisfy consumer demand for verifiable safety. Furthermore, all claims, from efficacy to sustainable packaging, must be fully verifiable to avoid legal issues like greenwashing.

SSG 2025 Hotspots

2. Engineering a Supply Chain That Won't Break

Supply chain resilience is now a strategic function driven by legal and political foresight.

Tariffs, AI, and Politics

A key workshop, titled "Supply chain challenges: Finding consistency through tariffs, AI, diversification and politics," made it clear: External factors are now major QA risks. Geopolitical tensions and price increases from proposed trade tariffs are among the top supply chain risks for 2025.

Your QA Action: Your QA strategy should now include watching global politics and trade policy. You need close collaboration with your legal and sourcing teams to handle these non-quality risks.

The Diversification Trap

Everyone wants backup suppliers, but experts stressed that diversification can be dangerous if done too quickly. If you rush to switch suppliers due to a trade conflict, you might skip crucial QA checks.

Your QA Action: Any new supplier must be fully qualified, meaning they adhere to rigorous standards (like 21 CFR 111 or NSF/ANSI 455-2), before you buy from them. This strict compliance check must be built into your resilience budget.

3. Tech Takes Over: AI and Smarter Traceability

Advanced technology has moved from a "nice-to-have" idea to an essential tool for food safety.

AI for Predictive Safety

The real value of AI for QA is prediction, not just automation.

• Predictive Auditing: AI tools use past data (audits, swab results) to predict which supplier or facility is most likely to fail an inspection. This lets QA leaders send limited audit resources exactly where the risk is highest.

• Automated Fixes: If unacceptable microbial results occur, Generative AI can instantly create a root cause analysis and recommend precise corrective actions to fix hygiene programs. The benefit is that you fix problems faster, drastically reducing contamination windows.

Traceability Finally Works

Historically, it’s been hard to track ingredients globally because different suppliers use different software systems. SSG 2025 highlighted a major fix:

• The IFT Traceability Driver: This open-source tool was launched to strengthen data exchange. It automatically converts complicated traceability data into a standardized, compliant format. This means all your suppliers' systems should finally "talk" seamlessly.

Your QA Action: QA leaders should prioritize partners using solutions like this new driver to ensure you get verifiable, end-to-end data on every sourced ingredient.

Technology Implementation Roadmap for Food Safety

Final Takeaways for QA and Food Safety Leaders

SupplyChain Global 2025 revealed that managing ingredients in 2025 and beyond requires a new playbook. Focus on these three immediate actions:

1. Get ahead of the GRAS reporting changes and map out your ingredient risks based on potential state-level bans.

2. Integrate geopolitical and trade policy monitoring into your supplier risk analysis. Never diversify without full, verifiable compliance checks.

3. Start investing in AI for predictive auditing and require your technology partners to provide clean, standardized ingredient data.

Contact yanyan@bruce-ai.com if you have any questions or comments.