Sara McClanahan
Chesterbrook
Summary
Dynamic professional with over a decade of experience in regulatory legislation and product compliance within the food industry. Expertise in quality and food safety standards, driving successful product launches that meet compliance requirements. Strong collaborator with a track record of coaching remote teams to enhance performance and achieve strategic objectives. Committed to leveraging opportunities for growth while maintaining high standards of product integrity.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Food Product Requirement and Compliance Specialist
IKEA Retail US, Ingka Group
Conshohocken
01.2025 - Current
- Monitor and assess emerging state and federal legislation; translate regulatory requirements into actionable product development guidelines.
- Lead cross-functional resolution of food safety and quality incidents, including full ownership of the recall process.
- Developing recall operating procedures for both Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and Food Service segments, focused on rapid response and regulatory compliance across 50+ full-format and multiple small-format retail locations.
- Developing a Prop 65 compliance framework for Trader, Food Service, and IKEA-owned products; standardizing processes to ensure consistent adherence to California regulations.
Global Regulatory and Product Compliance Leader
Inter IKEA
King of Prussia
03.2022 - 12.2024
- Identified regulatory risks for the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada for diverse product segments, including meats, beverages, side dishes, snacks, bakery, and plant-based foods, by reviewing all raw material specifications within a recipe and potential labeling content to ensure 100% compliant products for the markets.
- Designed CPG labeling content for over 40 languages, covering markets within North and South America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, by collaborating with each local market to ensure 100% accuracy of ingredient statements, nutritional fact tables, logos, claims, mandatory information per country legislation, and mandatory languages.
- Partnered with retail stores to provide Prop 65 warning labels to customers by conducting risk assessments for each new product launch, ensuring 100% compliance with Prop 65 regulations for IKEA-branded products.
- Optimized resources (time and money) by monitoring evolving food legislation and cascading multiple market changes simultaneously, to provide minimal updates to CPG packaging while maintaining 100% regulatory compliance.
Production Engineer/Interim Business Developer
Inter IKEA
King of Prussia
06.2018 - 03.2022
- Fostered partnerships with new and existing suppliers to enhance customer experience in the restaurants, bistros, and Swedish food markets by providing unique product variety at a low cost.
- Identified and contracted seven "right fit" bakery suppliers by evaluating their product offerings and plans for growth, conducting food safety audits, and performing production risk assessments within a one-year transformational supply chain project.
- Launched six reformulated syrups for the restaurant beverage tower by collaborating with the supplier on product development, including taste, nutritional content, and cost implications.
- Secured Mexico as a new market for a beverage supplier by coordinating test shipments with the supply planner, ensuring 100% compliance with recipes, supply chain capabilities, and import control documentation.
- Cultivated a food safety and quality-focused culture by implementing a product and supplier fulfillment program and leading 27 team members to secure GFSI certification, food safety and quality IKEA internal audits, IKEA internal and market regulatory ingredient and sustainability compliance, a history of non-compliance actions, analytical testing (COAs), valid manufacturing flow charts, and the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP), achieving 100% fulfillment.
Quality Systems Project Manager
Bimbo Bakeries USA
Horsham
10.2016 - 06.2018
- Spearheaded integrating key quality and food safety components including product scoring tables with essential scoring tools, Kleanz software, WinSPC process improvement tool, TRACEGAINS software, and Steam Cleaners by partnering with vendors and each bakery facility to develop and execute a comprehensive plan resulting in 100% implementation across all 54 facilities within a 12-month period.
- Boosted product performance leveraging 5 Regional Quality Centers to analyze and track seasonal data trends using product scoring, texture analysis, moisture content, water activity, pH, and ingredient analysis and implementing proactive measures to achieve a 20% reduction in consumer complaints within the 1st year.
- Masterminded the first Global Superior Quality Always (SQA) convention by designing and creating the content for 15 SQA marketing boards, coordinated with vendors on pricing and delivery of supplies, and arranged tour groups with 6 designated guides and maps.
Continuous Improvement Business Manager/Quality Analyst
Bimbo Bakeries USA
Fort Worth
12.2013 - 01.2015
- Leveraged training and workshops for 5 regional teams to identify waste, diagnose issues, and improve processes by employing continuous improvement methodologies, and problem-solving tools.
- Utilized techniques such as the 5 Whys, Gemba walks, fishbone diagrams, root cause analysis, and Kaizens, resulting in a 10% improvement in process efficiency in an in-line packaging improvement project.
- Maximized monthly sales directors' meetings and Wildly Important Goals (WIG) workshops to enhance meeting effectiveness, increasing actionable decisions made per meeting by 150%, from 2 to 5 actions, and increased monthly actions completed from 50% to 80%.
- Reduced the top 20% of consumer complaints in each quality category by designing and implementing a weekly product consumer report in Microsoft Excel, utilizing data from consumer relations.
- Developed and launched a weekly TRACEGAINS (supplier/receiver ingredient tracking system) compliance report in Microsoft Excel, achieving 100% vendor compliance in delivery and raw material specifications for all 34 bakeries.
- Developed and led a weekly product scoring session involving top corporate management to assess and enhance the quality of under-performing and new products.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Bakery Science and Production Management
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS05-2012
Quality Assurance Intern -
Bimbo Bakeries USA
Fort Worth, TX06-2011
Skills
- Food law and regulations in the US and Canada
- CPG food content labeling
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Recipe and product compliance evaluations
- Quality and food safety standards (GFSI, FSVP, FSMA, HACCP, HARPC)
- Root cause analysis
- Stakeholder management
- Risk assessment and monitoring
- Continuous improvement
- Relationship building and partnerships
- Food safety and quality supplier audits
- Recalls, quality, and food safety deviations
Certification
- Food Law and Regulations, U.S., Michigan State University, Institute for Food Law and Regulations, January 2024
- Food Law and Regulations, Canada, Michigan State University, Institute for Food Law and Regulations, January 2023
- Towards Seniority Leadership Development Program Graduate, IKEA, February 2022
- Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI) Certification, 2020
- American Institute of Baking Certification in Yeast Leaved Products (Bread and Rolls), 2012
- American Institute of Baking Certification in Chemically Leavened Products (Cookies, Crackers, Cake), 2011
Timeline
Food Product Requirement and Compliance Specialist
IKEA Retail US, Ingka Group
01.2025 - Current
Global Regulatory and Product Compliance Leader
Inter IKEA
03.2022 - 12.2024
Production Engineer/Interim Business Developer
Inter IKEA
06.2018 - 03.2022
Quality Systems Project Manager
Bimbo Bakeries USA
10.2016 - 06.2018
Continuous Improvement Business Manager/Quality Analyst
Bimbo Bakeries USA
12.2013 - 01.2015
Bachelor of Science - Bakery Science and Production Management
Kansas State University
Quality Assurance Intern -
Bimbo Bakeries USA
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