Unreasonable Impact | This Company’s Unique Technology Will Help Millions Make Safer Food Choices
by Brittany Lane
Originally posted on Unreasonable Impact, created with Barclays
Vitargent believes that every person should have the information they need to make informed decisions about the products they purchase and consume. Their technology is not only enabling more widespread access to information, but it’s also pioneering the field of safety testing technology using medaka and zebrafish embryos – making animal testing a thing of the past.
Jimmy Tao, CEO of Vitargent, shares how his company is working to allow millions of people to understand what ingredients wind up in their food or cosmetic products, so they have the ability to make safer and healthier decisions.
What experience inspired you to start this company?
My family is super health conscious; my mum used to only buy products labeled “organic” or “natural.” However, many of those products listed interesting ingredients with long, unknown chemical names, and she wanted to know what they were. Since I’m a fairly well educated person, she thought I should know what they were, but I constantly disappointed her. So, I started to bring those products to my chemist or pharmacist friends who I believed could tell me the answers with ease. Unfortunately, they all encountered the same frustration.
Then, more and more food and product recalls and scandals popped up with even more unknown chemicals being added without detection by regulatory bodies. I realized there was an urgent need for a technology or platform to empower consumers with informed purchasing decisions and to help producers make safer products.
