2023 Author: Cody Thornton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 11:20
Those who suffer from it know it, the food allergy they can be the worst of nightmares. Between unknown sauces and secret ingredients you have to move cautiously.
San Francisco startup 6Sensor Labs wants to change that with Nima, a gluten detector portable and discreet, small enough to fit in a pocket or purse, which could prove very useful for those suffering from celiac disease (if a celiac eats foods that contain gluten, the protein slowly breaks down their intestines).
It works like this: you put a sample of the food or drink to be tested in a disposable cartridge (so as to avoid contamination between different foods). The cartridge is inserted into the device and in two minutes the result arrives.
The task of communicating this lies with an emoticon that appears on Nima's side: if the stylized face smiles, the food is gluten-free, if the expression is grim, it is better to avoid.
For now, the device can only be pre-ordered online, including three capsules in the price of $ 199. Also available in presale is the package with 12 spare capsules at a cost of 47, 95 dollars.
In mid-2016, when it becomes available, Nima will also be able to count on an application that allows users to upload test results and search for information on restaurants where the food has already been tested.
Important: not being intended for diagnostic use, Nima lacks the approval of the FDA, the American agency for food safety, moreover it cannot guarantee that an entire meal is gluten-free because the tests only concern the foods inserted in the device.
For the moment AIC, Italian Celiac Association, maintains a prudent attitude towards Nima, preferring the responsibility of producers and restaurateurs to self-analysis.
But the do-it-yourself test market remains promising and the American device, pending the arrival of a similar Italian project that is being talked about a lot, intends to ride it.