(Credit: Andrew Gebhart)
LAS VEGAS—The battery-powered Allergen Alert is a portable device with the lofty goal of helping those with food allergies enjoy a meal with peace of mind. I saw a demo of the latest prototype at CES, and the process for checking food is simple and quick. Winner of Best Startup at CES, this lab-grade system detects the presence of nine different allergens with scientific accuracy down to the parts per million (ppm).
Due out in the fall of this year for $200, the small, rectangular gadget is about the size of a medium-weight book standing on its long side. In addition to the machine itself, you’ll need a single-use pouch to insert your food sample, and a $25-per-month subscription fee is required for a monthly supply of six pouches.
(Credit: Andrew Gebhart)The pouch looks like an enclosed plastic test tube. You put a sample of your food in the tube, slot the tube into the top of the device, hit a button, and wait. You’ll see results within two minutes on the device itself and through the compatible app.
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The system can check for gluten as well as eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat. The company estimates that the machine can detect milk down to 5ppm and gluten down to 4ppm.
(Credit: Andrew Gebhart)Getting only six pouches per month feels like a small amount if you’re a person with food allergies who likes to eat out regularly, and waiting two minutes to chow down on a hot meal sounds inconvenient to me. That said, the process is surprisingly quick for something this detailed, and Allergen Alert aims to be a literal lifesaver for those who suffer from serious food allergies.
It’s also an innovative device that stands out on the consumer front. You can find business-facing lab-grade testers, and other devices have been designed specifically to detect certain allergens, such as peanuts. The Allergen Alert will be covering a broad spectrum with a high level of promised accuracy. If it works as intended, it will be a huge boon, especially for worried parents.