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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Nima

Nima Now Conducting its Own Food Allergy Tests and Mapping its Findings

Nima, the company behind the eponymous handheld peanut and gluten detectors, is adding another arrow to its quiver of tools to help those afflicted by food allergies. The company announced today that it is running its own peanut and gluten tests on dishes from large restaurant chains and sharing its finding via an online guide.

The Nima team tested samples for the presence of gluten or peanuts from more than 100 popular chain restaurants using the company’s sensors. Dishes that were found to be allergen free are mapped in the tool and labeled at “Nima-Tested.” Results will be accessible to anyone (even if you don’t have a Nima sensor or Nima account) via a special section on Nima’s site.

Typically, chain restaurants have the same recipes, same ingredients and same preparation procedures across all locations — so if a dish is allergen-free at one location, chances are it’ll be allergen-free across the whole chain. However, Nima is quick to point out that conditions could be different, depending on certain local conditions that would invite contamination (for example, a particular McDonald’s could just happen to be right next door to a peanut butter factory). The Nima press announcement adds: “Users are encouraged to always practice due diligence, talk to servers and keep an EpiPen on-hand for emergencies.”

I spoke with Shireen Yates, CEO and co-founder of Nima, who said that Nima’s testing and mapping of chain restaurants will be a “big focus” for the company. Providing the data as a free service for the public is a good idea. From a public health perspective, it’s good for people with food allergies to have as much data as possible when eating out. From a business perspective, this resource creates goodwill and should increase awareness — and thereby drive sales — of Nima’s products.

Gluten Free Watchdog and Nima Spar Over Sensor Results

Nima, makers of the the handheld Gluten Sensor for food, came under fire last Thursday when Gluten Free Watchdog published a story saying it could not recommend the product. Over the weekend, Nima posted its response disputing Gluten Free Watchdog’s claims.

Both sides get pretty into the weeds with scientific data and numbers and parts per million in their arguments. We aren’t here to judge the merits of either party’s argument, but bring it up because this could impact Nima as a business, and since Nima is one of the first companies with such a handheld sensor, the evolution of the consumer food testing industry.

Nima makes two different food sensors: one that detects gluten and one that detects peanuts (which was just made generally available last week). Each sensor has a small, handheld electronic device and a cartridge. Consumers break off a piece of food they want to test, place it in the cartridge, and put the cartridge inside the sensor, which comes back saying whether or not it detected the allergen.

Accuracy is critical to the success of Nima’s products, and for the company, which has raised $13.2 million in venture funding. Nima’s sensors aren’t cheap ($289 for the Gluten starter kit, $72 for a dozen test capsules), and consumers spending that kind of money on either of the Nimas sensors must feel confident in the results in order to avoid potentially life-threatening food allergens.

Gluten Free Watchdog has been testing the Nima sensor in various scenarios for well over a year. Scanning through the site, it seems as though author Tricia Thompson has been skeptical of the Nima’s ability to fully test for the presence of gluten in real world, heterogeneous scenarios. From their September 6 post titled “Gluten Free Watchdog’s Updated Position Statement on the Nima Sensor for Gluten” (emphasis theirs):

At Gluten Free Watchdog we are not able to recommend the Nima Sensor consumer testing gadget* for gluten. Third party testing data released yesterday by Nima Labs has further solidified our position. This testing data confirmed what we’ve noted in our own testing with this gadget. There is no way to know whether a smiley face test result from the Nima Sensor is a true negative in terms of the gluten-free labeling rule (gluten below 20 ppm) or a false negative (gluten at or above 20 ppm). And there is no way to know the level of gluten in a sample that resulted in a gluten found result.

The post goes on to say:

Why is this a problem? At a level of gluten in a sample from less than 2 ppm up to a level of gluten between 30 ppm and 40 ppm, the result displayed on the Nima Sensor may be either smiley face or gluten found. If a sample is tested with a Nima Sensor and the result is a smiley face, there is no practical way for a consumer to know if the level of gluten in the sample is less than or more than 20 ppm. If a sample is tested with a Nima Sensor and the result is gluten found, there is no practical way for a consumer to know if the level of gluten in the sample is less than or more than 20 ppm. As a result, the data point received from the Nima Sensor for gluten presents major interpretation problems.

On September 8, the Nima Co-founder and CEO, Shireen Yates, published this as part of a blog post titled “Response to Recommendations Against the Nima Gluten Sensor by Gluten Free Watchdog (GFWD)” (emphasis theirs):

Gluten Free Watchdog’s view of our recently published validation is incomplete and misleading.

Here’s why:

  • All the studies show Nima is highly sensitive across a range of both low and high levels of gluten.
  • The Nima third party data accurately reported gluten found at 20 ppm and above between 93.3% for food as prepared (a food item that is spiked with an intended quantity of gluten) and 97.2% for food as quantified by an ELISA lab kit (used to determine the exact ppm of gluten in the food).
  • The Nima peer reviewed study published in the Food Chemistry Journal reported gluten found at 20 ppm and above at 96.9% accuracy.
  • The statement that, “Nima will fail to detect gluten at 20 ppm 20% of the time” is almost entirely driven by 1 specific food out of 13 tested. That sample, when quantified, was actually below 20 ppm.
  • In real life, people get glutened at many different ppm levels, not just 20 ppm. Nima has been shown to detect gluten at levels below, at and above 20 ppm across a variety of foods in a number of studies.

It goes on to conclude:

The purpose of the Nima Gluten Sensor is to provide another layer of information in your decision making process. It’s meant to give you information beyond best intentions of the person cooking the food, beyond conversations with waitstaff, beyond menu labeling, and beyond hard to understand food packaging. Ultimately, nothing is 100% guaranteed. All we can do is continue to work together to have an open dialogue. Our mission is to serve and empower you with the data to make more informed choices and live your healthiest life. If you are looking to continue the conversation, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us through support@nimasensor.com.

We reached out to both parties. Nima pointed us to its blog post, and we have yet to hear back from Gluten Free Watchdog. We will update this post as we hear back with any further information.

Nima Peanut Sensor Now Available, Gluten Sensor Selling at Select CVS Stores

It’s back-to-school time, which means my son is once again eating lunches in a cafeteria. I doubt his school is unique, but it actually has separate tables for kids who bring in peanut butter sandwiches. The idea being to separate, as much as possible, the kids with peanuts from the kids who are allergic to peanuts. But for kids with severe peanut allergies, there’s a new way to isolate that particular problem.

Starting today, concerned parents can purchase the Nima Peanut Sensor, which had up until now only been available for pre-order. This is the second commercial food sensor from Nima, which also makes the portable Gluten Sensor.

Unveiled in January of this year, the Nima Peanut Sensor is a two-part system consisting of a small, triangular sensor and a single-use capsule. If you want to see if packaged food or a meal at a restaurant is peanut-free, you place a pea-sized sample of it in the capsule, screw on the cap and insert it into the sensor. Results come back in under five minutes with either a peanut found message or a smiley face indicating the food is peanut-free.

Nima says its Peanut Sensor can detect 10 parts per million (ppm) of peanut protein with above 99.2 percent accuracy. (According to the company, results of third party accuracy testing can be found here, with additional validation information available here and here.)

In addition to the sensor, the other part of the Nima value proposition is the community. Through the accompanying Nima app, people can test and rate restaurant and packaged foods and share results. Users can then search the Nima community database by brand for packaged food and see a crowdsourced map of restaurants designated gluten or peanut-free.

Nima’s promised peace of mind isn’t cheap, however. The Nima Peanut Sensor, available through the Nima website and Amazon, costs $229.99, with a twelve-pack of test capsules running $72 (that drops to $59 if you do Nima’s subscription service).

Nima Co-Founder and CEO Shireen Yates told me in an interview that during this past year the company has seen that people buy the Gluten sensor for themselves, but buy the Peanut Sensor for their kids.

Elsewhere, my sharp-eyed colleague Ashley Daigneault noticed that her local CVS was selling the Nima Gluten sensor in stores. Yates confirmed with us the two have been running a small test in retail stores in Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. The Nima Gluten Sensor retails at CVS for $229 for the sensor and $72 for the capsule pack.

If this retail test works out, it will open up a bit of a different market for Nima. Instead of getting customers who are actively looking for a food sensor, it could find an audience with people who didn’t know such sensors even existed.

Though expensive, the Nima Peanut Sensor can provide an additional layer of scrutiny for concerned parents sending their kids off to school.

The Food Tech 25: Twenty Five Companies Changing the Way We Eat

Here at The Spoon, we spend most days writing and thinking about those who are transforming what we eat. No matter whether a startup, big company, inventor, or a cook working on new approaches in the kitchen, we love learning the stories of people changing the future of food. So much so, in fact, that we wanted to share those companies that most excite us with our readers.

And so here it is, The Spoon’s Food Tech 25: Twenty Five Companies Changing the Way We Eat

What exactly is the Food Tech 25? In short, it’s our list of the twenty five companies we think are doing the most interesting things changing the way we create, buy, store, cook and think about food.

As with any list, there are bound to be a few questions about how we got here and why we chose the companies we did. Here are some answers:

How did we create this list?

The editors of the Spoon — myself, Chris Albrecht, Catherine Lamb and Jenn Marston — got together in a room, poured some kombucha (ed note: except for Chris), and listed all the companies we thought were doing interesting and important work in changing food and cooking. From there, we had numerous calls, face-to-face meetings and more glasses of kombucha until we narrowed the list down to those you see here.

Is this an annual list?

No, this is a list of the companies we think are the most interesting people and companies right now, in mid-2018. Things could definitely look different six months from now.

Is this list in a particular order or are the companies ranked?

No, the list is in no particular order and we did not rank the 25 companies.

Why isn’t company X on the list?

If this was your list, company X or Y would most likely be on the list (and that’s ok with us). But this is the Spoon’s list and we’re sticking to it (for now – see above).

And of course, making this list wasn’t easy. There are lots of companies doing interesting things in this space. If we had enough room to create runners-up or honorable mentions, we would. But we don’t (and you don’t have enough time to read a list like that).

So, without further ado, here is the Spoon’s Food Tech 25. If you’re the type that likes your lists all on one page, click here.


EMBER
Ember bills itself as “the world’s first temperature control mug,” which basically means you can dictate a specific temperature for your brew via the corresponding app and keep your coffee (or tea or whatever) hot for as long as you need to. The significance here isn’t so much about coffee as it is about where else we could implement the technology and relatively simple concept powering the Ember mug. The company currently has patents out on other kinds of heated or cooled dishware, and Ember has cited baby bottles and medicine as two areas in which it might apply its technology. And yes, it allows you to finally stop microwaving all that leftover morning coffee.

 


INSTANT POT
The Instant Pot is not the highest-tech gadget around, but its affordability, versatility, and speed have made this new take on the pressure cooker a countertop cooking phenomenon. It also has a large and fanatical community, where enthusiastic users share and reshare their favorite Instant Pot recipes across Facebook groups and online forums. By becoming the first new breakout appliance category of the millennial generation, the Instant Pot has achieved that highly desirable (and rare) position of having its brand synonymous with the name of the category; people don’t go looking for pressure cookers, they go looking for an Instant Pot.

 


DELIVEROO
We chose Deliveroo out of the myriad of food delivery services because of their Editions project, which uses customer data to curate restaurant hubs in areas which have unfulfilled demands for certain chain establishments or cuisine types. This model allows food establishments to set up locations with zero start-up costs, and also gives customers in more restaurant-dry areas a wide variety of delivery food options. Essentially, it’s cloud kitchens meets a food hall, with some heavy analysis to help determine which restaurants or cuisines customers want, and where. These “Rooboxes” (hubs of shipping containers in which the food is prepared) show that Deliveroo is a pioneer in the dark kitchen space, and are doing serious work to shake up the food delivery market.

 

AMAZON GO
There are any number of ways that Amazon could have been included in this list, but its Amazon Go stores are what we think will be the real game changer. The cashierless corner store uses a high-tech combination of cameras and computing power, allowing you to walk in grab what you want — and leave. That’s it. At its first location in Seattle, we were struck by how seamless the experience was. As the locations broaden, this type of quick convenience has the potential to change the way we shop for snacks, (some) groceries and even prepared meal kits.

 


INGEST.AI
Restaurants have more pieces of software to deal with than ever. In addition to all the delivery platforms they are now plugged into, there have to deal with payments systems, HR software, and inventory management software. And right now, none of those applications talk to each other. Created by a former IBM Watson engineer, Ingest.ai promises to extract and connect the data from ALL of those disparate software pieces and tie them together to give restaurant owners a holistic, data-powered view of their business. It also helps them have more precise control over their business and automate tasks like food ordering and staff scheduling.

Want to meet the innovators from the FoodTech 25? Make sure to connect with them at North America’s leading foodtech summit, SKS 2019, on Oct 7-8th in Seattle.

NEXT

Podcast: The Personalized Kitchen

Advancements in molecular sensors, real-time analytics and food production are laying the foundation for a world where consumers will consume food tailored specifically for them based on their own biomarkers, past behavior, and environmental data.

And while we may not be living in a futuristic world with personalized food manufacturing machines just yet (though we are getting closer), there’s no doubt one of the year’s biggest trends in food innovation centers around personalization.

Which is why I was excited to take the Smart Kitchen Show on the road last month to talk about the personalized kitchen.

My guests for this live taping of the Smart Kitchen Show at Target’s Open House in San Francisco included Shireen Yates (CEO of Nima), Kevin Brown (CEO of Innit), and Jae Berman (Head Coach and lead nutritionist for Habit). Friend of the show Brian Frank of FTW Ventures also stopped by to help with interviewing duties.

Enjoy the podcast by clicking below, subscribing in iTunes or downloading directly.

Nima Unveils Portable Peanut Sensor to Make Meals Safer

The startup behind the world’s first portable gluten sensing device is launching a peanut sensing version at CES this week. The new Nima Peanut Sensor is a handheld device designed to detect peanut particles in food by testing small samples in an insertable cartridge.

According to the Food Allergy Research & Education organization, around 15 million Americans suffer from food allergies and around 1/5 of those have some type of peanut allergy, ranging from mild to severe. The Nima Peanut Sensor aims to give people with peanut sensitivities or parents of children with peanut allergies a portable tool to test liquid or solid foods before they take a bite.

The sensor shares the same form factor as the gluten version – a compact black triangular device with room for a testing cartridge and a readable diagnostic screen. But, instead of coming with capsules that create a reaction when interacting with gluten particles, the peanut sensor ships with cartridges designed to detect 20 parts per million (ppm) of peanut protein or more in foods or drinks. Users take a portion of the item they want to test and insert a small sample into the cartridge and place both inside the sensor. After three minutes, the test gives a simple reading; if the peanut sensor detects peanut protein, the portable device will display a peanut icon. If no protein is found, a smiley face pops up letting the user know the food is safe to eat.

When Nima first launched its gluten sensor, the real excitement around the company’s innovation was around the technology – and science – inside each cartridge. What Nima’s founders have done is essentially developed a mini-laboratory in every device and a capsule with the right test materials to detect the unique proteins found in gluten. But as many pointed out, the setup Nima created could be used to detect other allergens and even beyond.

“There’s no reason it can’t be used for dairy or peanuts and there’s nothing stopping them from going to pathogens either,” food tech VC Brian Frank told the Spoon at the 2016 Smart Kitchen Summit.

While the gluten sensor goes after a growing segment of awareness of gluten intolerance in the U.S., the peanut sensor hits an even bigger market and one that’s close to the heart of many parents. Peanut allergies tend to appear in childhood and can produce a life-threatening reaction. Parents and caregivers will be able to use the Nima Peanut Sensor to test foods on the go, at birthday parties and restaurants to avoid a reaction.

Just like the gluten sensor, the peanut sensing device will connect to the Nima mobile app to share test results and build a user database of peanut-free friendly restaurants and packaged foods.

Nima’s peanut sensor is only available for pre-order right now in the U.S. and Canada through March 8 and starter kits are $229 during this promotional period. A starter kit will come with the sensor, a twelve pack of test capsules along with the charger and a carrying case. The sensor will ship at retail later in 2018 and regular price for the peanut sensor starter kit is $289 and additional cartridges will be $6 each and sold in twelve packs. Nima also offers an auto-delivery or membership option which lowers the price of capsules to just under $5 a piece (sold in packs of twelve.)

Interestingly, Nima also has waitlist signs up available for soy, tree nuts, dairy, shellfish and eggs. The company clearly has plans to be the go-to for the millions who suffer from all kinds of food allergies in the future.

Nima’s Founder Wants Us To Know Exactly What We’re Eating

Food allergies are a common problem for over 15 million people in the U.S. – so common, in fact, that one in three kids suffer from at least one allergy. These can range from uncomfortable symptoms to life threatening reactions. When Shireen Yates was in college, she suffered from a variety of symptoms and illnesses without understanding the cause. She wondered if it was something she was eating and started avoiding certain foods, including ones with gluten. But outside of her own kitchen, she couldn’t control what was in her food or even verify if things marked “gluten-free” were truly free of the allergen.

“I thought, ‘Why can’t I take a small sample of this food and test it for gluten to have the power of data in my own hands to make a more informed decision?’ The idea of Nima was born then.”

Nima’s flagship product is a portable, handheld gluten sensor that allows anyone to place a small piece of food they are about to eat into a chamber and test it for traces of gluten on the spot. The magic of Nima lies in the technology inside the Nima sensor – a chemical reaction that occurs on the spot that determines if gluten is present or not – and its application to other food allergens is what has investors so excited.

“There’s no reason it can’t be used for dairy or peanuts and there’s nothing stopping them from going to pathogens either,” Brian Frank, food tech VC commented. “In other words, if there’s something there that can be detected, it’s possible the Nima form factor could be used to detect it.” Frank isn’t a Nima investor, but he’s hit on the key excitement around the tech that Yates and her team are developing. Though not officially on the market, Nima’s been blogging about their progress with measuring peanut particles in food and their journey to tackle a common and sometimes fatal food allergy.

Nima also wants to create a community of users who can share their gluten detection data, allowing people to benefit from Yelp-style reviews of restaurants and food on the go and giving them the information to determine whether or not they feel good about eating a particular dish. Using the Nima device – or any tool to test food before mealtime – requires a behavior change for consumers. How to use the device and get accurate results and what to do with that info is all part of the ongoing education the Nima team is working on with their users.

“We are unveiling hidden ingredients and delivering this unprecedented data in the palm of your hands. Ultimately, we are bringing peace of mind to mealtime. Nima is like a little sidekick that can take the first bite before you do and give you one additional data point to make a more informed decision about eating,” says Yates.

Don’t miss Shireen Yates, co-founder and CEO of Nima at the 2017 Smart Kitchen Summit. Check out the full list of speakers and to register for the Summit, use code NIMA to get 25% off ticket prices.

The Future Of How (And What) We Eat

As connectivity is transforming the way we live, work and shop, there is a heavy focus on technology’s role in our everyday lives. The internet pushed us into a global economy and the internet of things will connect us to our stuff and to the people who make our stuff. What about food? We’ve explored the way kitchen appliances are evolving and the way grocers and retailers are shifting the way our food gets to our plates. Could the revolution change the way we eat?

VR Comes To Dinner

Picture this: you’re sitting at a dinner table, but instead of a fork and a knife in front of you, it’s a bunch of electrodes connected to your tongue and jaw. With the right amount of electrical and thermal stimulation on your taste buds and muscles, those electrodes can actually trick your brain into thinking your tasting – and chewing – something sweet. Sounds like something from a sci-fi movie, but it’s real work being done by food scientists.

But this is all stuff in a lab – could it ever be commercialized? One group calling themselves Project Nourished thinks so and have developed a type of virtual reality tourism around it.  The experience involves a VR headset but also a diffuser to mimic food aromas and even a “bone conduction transducer” which creates the sound of chewing. The future of VR eating might mean some day you could sit at a table in Cleveland and experience the sites, sounds and tastes of a restaurant in southern Italy. In addition to tourism, the diet and nutrition industry could also capitalize, developing programs where people would think they were snacking on their favorite treat – without the calories and guilt that come with it.

Looking Inside Your Food

We’ve become hyper aware of the food we eat – where it comes from, if it’s healthy, organic, or non-GMO. But usually , we have to rely on labels to tell us if something is good – or safe – for us to eat. Seeing an opportunity, startups are addressing this problem with different types of scanning technology.

One of the more well-known and embattled companies in this space is Consumer Physics, makers of the SCiO,  an infrared spectrometer. The device was designed to read the molecular makeup – including calories and nutrients – of food. The company struggled to bring a solid product to market and faced legal challenges and since then has moved to putting its software inside mobile phones. Others like French kitchen device company Terraillon are developing kitchen scale with an embedded SCiO that scan food and read the nutritional info – less revolutionary, but still attempting to provide visibility into what we eat.

Perhaps the most promising in the sensor-powered food monitoring category is Silicon Valley startup Nima. Nima’s flagship product is a portable gluten sensor, able to detect small amounts of gluten – a largely hidden ingredient – inside of food. The science behind the product involves a chemical reaction that takes place using elements inside a disposable pod. Food placed inside the pod is then tested for antibodies and a simple happy or sad face reading is given based on the result. Nima’s advisors claim the same technology could be used to detect other allergens like peanut butter or dairy.

So – could technology make you think you’re eating chocolate when you’re actually consuming just air? Could a portable device tell you exactly what’s in the food you’re about to enjoy or even better – warn you of a potential allergic reaction?

It looks as though the future of eating might include more technology than we think.

This post was originally by The Spoon as part of a Smart Home magazine distributed at the Home and Housewares Show.

The News Show: Smart Cookie Ovens & Malibu Bay Breeze (Podcast)

Mike and Ashley are back talking about the latest in the world of the connected kitchen and foodtech.

To subscribe to the Smart Kitchen Show in iTunes, go here. To download this episode, click here.

Stories discussed on the show include:

Appliance as a service 
Juicero’s new CEO
SideChef’s smart easy bake oven for cooking
Teforia’s $12 million infusion
Ashley’s experience with the Nima gluten sensor
Jenn-Air’s Nest integration
Ashley explains why Rhode Islanders are still drinking the Malibu Bay Breeze
A discussion of whether George Foreman actually invented a grill
Smart Kitchen Summit pictures are out!
SKS17 pre-registration has begun!

Enjoy!

Hands On With The Nima Gluten Free Sensor

After being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder over a year ago, I dove into researching how I could be proactive. What kinds of vitamins, foods, exercises could I take on to stave off the effects of the disease and remain a healthy thirty-something mom with a busy job and personal life? It didn’t take long to discover that things like gluten and dairy were among the top triggers of inflammation in the body. I began the process of removing them from my daily diet.

Dairy was pretty easy, although many packaged foods have hidden dairy inside. But the labels are usually clear. Even dining out wasn’t too bad – restaurants usually have several non-cheese/butter/milk options from which to choose with some exceptions (every try to order a cheese-free dish from an Italian restaurant? Don’t bother). But gluten? Trying to find totally gluten-free foods on the go is hell.

But food labeling has gotten so much better, you say. My grocery store has a whole aisle of gluten-free foods! Sure, but as most of us who avoid gluten know, it’s much more complicated than that. Gluten is a hidden ingredient, a mixture of proteins found in wheat and related grains that give food an elastic, dough-like consistency before cooking or baking. And even foods that don’t naturally contain gluten can have gluten on them if they are made, produced, cooked or shipped in a place with other products that contain gluten. And how can you really tell? If a label or menu say “gluten-free” – what choice do you have other than to believe them?

That’s exactly the problem the folks at Nima are trying to solve. Their flagship product – a small, portable device with insertable cartridges – looks like just another tech gadget. But the idea behind it and the problem it’s solving is pretty revolutionary. So if I’m out to eat with friends, and a dish is labeled GF, or nothing is labeled GF but the waiter assures me they can make a certain dish GF, all I have to do to be confident in this is pop a sample of my dish into the Nima cartridge. Nima can sense even tiny amounts of gluten – 20 ppm or more – in a little over 2 minutes.

At the 2016 Smart Kitchen Summit, I got to sit down with Carla Borsoi, Nima’s VP of Marketing and try out a Nima sensor. I had just finished eating lunch provided by our catering team – a grilled chicken salad and fruit. At first glance, there was no obvious source of gluten or dairy on the salad, although the chicken had a crust on it that looked like it could have been breading. I did eat it (it was the first time I had eaten all day!) but I wondered. When Carla handed me the Nima cartridge, I chose to break off a small morsel of the chicken closest to the crust and pop it in the device.

nima-at-sks

The process is incredibly simple – each device comes with a few disposable cartridges that are inserted into the machine for testing. It fits about a dime-sized portion of food, liquid or solid and contains the chemicals needed to interact with gluten and detect the protein in your food. In fact, the chemistry used is actually a proprietary antibody developed by Nima co-founders Shireen Yates and Scott Sundvor. Once the cartridge is in, the device gets to work. A little over two minutes later, a little smiley face popped up, indicating no gluten present. So my lunch had been safe and GF after all. I felt pretty relieved, but also quickly recognized how powerful a device like this could be for people with food allergies and sensitivities beyond gluten.

I talked with Nima advisor and food tech VC Brian Frank about this later in the day. “What is compelling about Nima, to me, is that they’re unlocking secret world of my food, giving me information about what’s on my plate. Is it good? Do I want to eat it?” Frank explained the movement to eat gluten, dairy or soy-free foods has grown alongside a broader desire for consumers to know what’s in their foods. And the infrastructure that Nima’s developing isn’t limited to gluten.

“There’s no reason it can’t be used for dairy or peanuts and there’s nothing stopping them from going to pathogens either,” he added. In other words, if there’s something there that can be detected, it’s possible the Nima form factor could be used to detect it.

It’s not hard to see why Frank and others in the food tech space are interested in Nima and their potential. The connected world gives us access to information about so much of our lives – we can stay in touch with friends and family, keep an eye on our homes, find out about the weather outside, the traffic, the best prices on goods and services. And there’s certainly been a movement to give us better information how to eat healthily and ways to access food in easier and more convenient ways.

But the food molecular sensor market is as a whole is still in its early days and in general hasn’t always seen success. Scio, as an example, launched on Kickstarter two years ago and dazzled at TechCrunch Disrupt with its portable molecular sensor. The project raised $2.7 million in funding and promised to use IR-spectroscopy to deliver information about what was in various foods, plants and medicine. The marketing video shows a guy wandering a grocery store, scanning a variety of food products, even the leaves on a tree outside, and receiving deep molecular information about each of them. Compelling, right?

Though not entirely based on smoke and mirrors, the promise of this product almost seemed too good to be true (with a Theranos-like vision). Fast forward to 2016, the company is currently in a patent dispute and shipped its product to early backers without telling them that for it to be actually useful, they’d need to purchase a $250 developer’s kit. And then there are other issues with broad-spectrum technology like Scio, relying on a database that needs to be continually updated to be useful and trying to give information about such a wide range of things.

The Nima sensor has yet to ship, but it stands to reason that their focus on one molecule analysis at a time as opposed to a universal sensor might be a better approach. And though Nima doesn’t rely on a database to give user’s information about their food, their app does give them the ability to record the information they find out about their food in restaurants, creating a sort of Yelp reviews for food labeling accuracy and friendliness to gluten, dairy and other allergen sufferers.

Scio, Nima and other food sensors are coming to market at a time when demand for that information and healthy food alternatives are higher than ever. Analysts predict that dairy alternatives will be a $19.5 billion market by 2020 and the GF label can be found on mainstream labels across the grocery aisles, even on most Cheerios’ boxes. According to a survey from Innova Insights, 91% of consumers believe that foods with recognizable ingredients are healthier, proving that even consumers who don’t have dietary restrictions want to know more about what’s inside their food and how it will impact their health. But inserting tech into the equation to help with that can be tricky.

“Food tech is hard,” commented Frank, “You’re asking people to change or adopt new behaviors, and that’s not a small thing. Tech that scratches the right itch at the right time – that’s what drives success.” When I mentioned Nima to other gluten or dairy free friends, there was a good amount of intrigue. But the question I got asked most?

Where can I buy it?

The Nima sensor will come out later this year – and you can sign up for updates on their website. We’re hoping to get our hands on one for The Spoon – stay tuned.