Ellen Thornton, Senior Scientific Associate – Toxicology & Regulatory Affairs, Food & Nutrition
Ellen has 7 years of experience working in regulatory consultancy. Following her bachelor’s degree in chemistry, she gained 2 years’ experience in environmental regulatory compliance, specifically in extended producer responsibility (EPR). In this role, Ellen researched and maintained internal databases of global EPR requirements to be able to assist clients in their producer responsibilities. In addition, Ellen wrote blogs and presented informative webinar on EPR, in addition to contributing to regulatory assessment reports for clients. After 2 and a half years at Lorax Compliance, in which time Ellen was promoted to Junior Environmental Consultant, Ellen moved to an Environmental Chemist role at WRc plc, which involved hazardous waste classification. This involved data reviews and production of reports to which outlined the client’s waste classification. During this time, Ellen also began work in the toxicology team, eventually moving to be a full-time member of the team. Ellen worked on many toxicological risk assessments in water, and during her time at WRc plc was promoted to Consultant Toxicologist. Ellen was part of a 24/7 team which responded to urgent enquiries on drinking water contamination. This involved completing risk assessments on contaminants under time pressure and producing recommendations for clients. In addition, Ellen authored and reviewed safety data sheets on potential water contaminants. To continue her career in toxicology, Ellen became a Scientific Regulatory Advisor at Penman Consulting where she assisted clients in REACh registration and wrote toxicological study summaries.
Since 2021, Ellen has fulfilled the role of Senior Scientific Associate – Toxicology & Regulatory Affairs within the EU and UK team of Food & Nutrition at Intertek. In this role, Ellen assists clients through the process of determining the regulatory status of their product, reviewing available data against the Novel Food/Food Additive/Food Enzyme/Flavourings/GRAS requirements to identify data gaps and advise on regulatory strategy. Ellen has also compiled full dossiers for Novel Food and GRAS applications for submission to the relevant authorities, in addition to assisting clients in answering questions from the regulators. Ellen is a project manager for several projects, including full regulatory approvals, and has successfully delivered reports with positive feedback from clients.
