I love technology and always keep an eye out for any new gadgets that are being developed.
This one appeared in my Facebook feed this morning, and it has got me rather excited about it’s potential.
The Nima is a small, portable sensor that people can use to quickly detect whether the food in front of them contains gluten.
It is actually small enough to put in your bag, and in terms of testing time…apparently it only takes about 2 minutes to analyse a sample!
The Nima has been developed by San Francisco based 6Sensorlabs, with the idea coming from the founders own experiences with food allergies and intolerances.
And it seems very straight forward to use…place a sample of the food into a disposable, one time use capsule which is then placed into the sensor.
If the food contains gluten, a little blue sad face will show on the display…if it is gluten free, a happy face will appear!
This is clever wrapped up in a small gadget…and something which would be very useful to those suffering from gluten intolerance.
The only issue I can see would be making sure you have a supply of the capsules as they are for one time use only.
I am not a coeliac, however I am severely lactose intolerant, so am very interested to read that the developers are looking to expand this technology to test for other allergies such as nut and diary!
And I can tell you I would be first in line to buy something which will tell me whether or not it is safe to eat a meal!
As a food intolerance sufferer, I have to trust that when someone tells me a meal is dairy free, it really is.
Unfortunately, the reality is I have been caught out too many times which means eating out is very stressful, and I often will not eat at all in order to prevent having to rush home early.
Having something like a Nima, which was small enough to take with me, and accurate enough to trust would be so liberating.
It would also make travelling with a chronic intolerance so much easier too!
Sadly, the Nima is currently only available in the USA, but fingers crossed, it will eventually be available here in Australia.
If you would be interested in such a gadget, make sure you contact 6SensorLabs and let them know…I already have!
To find out more, click here to visit the 6SensorLabs website!
What food intolerances/allergies do you suffer from, and would you buy a Nina? Share in the comments below…
Sarah Anderson ??