Say goodbye to the question Are you sure there’s no gluten in it? and say hello to Nima, a portable allergen-detecting device that currently has the technology to sense gluten in food, and will soon be able to detect peanuts and dairy as well. PSFK reports,

[pullquote]”When a [food] sample has 20 parts per million (ppm), there is a 99.5% chance Nima will test a positive. That accuracy increases when the food sample goes over FDA’s gluten-free label limit of 20 ppm.”[/pullquote]

The sensor, created by former MIT students at 6SensorLabs, can test your food for allergens in just two minutes, and is small enough to fit inside a purse or pocket. Nima is visually discrete—it looks a bit like a makeup compact—and it doesn’t rely on messy test tubes like other allergen sensors.nims

Photo: Nima

The triangular device works like this: you insert a small amount of food into a disposable tube, which you then insert into the body of the machine. Nima then tests the sample and lights up with either a smiley face (for all clear) or a red light (to indicate the presence of gluten). “Right now, the company is working on adapting the technology to test for peanuts and milk, both leading allergens in the United States, according to PSFK.

Nima will be releasing prices for its devices and accepting pre-orders by the end of the year. They’re aiming to get the device into the hands of consumer by early 2016.


[via PSFKNima]