Kimberly Ong

I am excited about supporting innovation and helping advance the commercialization of novel sustainable food, substances, and products through safety and sustainability consulting. Novel foods, cultured meat and seafood, nanomaterials, bio-based products, and sustainable manufacturing processes are of particular interest as these will play a valuable societal and commercial role in the near future.

As someone who has done novel foods and advanced materials safety consulting, toxicology research, and projects in environmental management and policy, I am well positioned to work on the multi-faceted and unique challenges associated with innovative product development and commercialization. I started by doing laboratory nanotoxicity research for my PhD, and then moved to nano and bio-based safety consulting for industry and government. This inspired me to advance my knowledge in corporate environmental management and policy-making, so completed an applied MSc in Environmental Management and Policy in Sweden, then returned to consulting with a wider set of skills.

My work with Vireo includes:

  • Providing support for regulatory approvals and registrations for novel products in multiple fields, such as food, food packaging, consumer products, industrial and chemical areas.
  • Helping companies develop and administer an efficient strategy to support safe commercialization (e.g. safe-by-design, early testing, regulatory testing, dossier development and authorization).
  • Exploring the use of alternative testing strategies (i.e. non-animal testing methods) to more efficiently demonstrate safety.
  • Protection of occupational health through risk assessment and Safety Data Sheet development
  • Development of screening frameworks and advising on risks and benefits associated with advanced materials
  • Providing recommendations on toxicity testing of advanced and novel materials
  • Managing and leading large consortium, including industrial competitors, to work together to develop safety dossiers and to develop appropriate methods to ensure the safety of their products and support commercialization


    My lab research focused on:
    - Improving and validating nanotoxicity testing techniques
    - Understanding the physiological and developmental mechanisms of toxicity in organisms
    - Performing in vitro cellular tests