But a new discreet device, small enough to fit in a pocket or purse, may make eating easier and safer for gluten-sensitive people. called Nima , the device detects the presence of gluten, and can detect the presence of gluten
and provide results in a matter of minutes. For people with this allergy, ordering in a regular restaurant is quite stressful, but this innovation will open up a social environment for them. In fact, not all countries are obligated to list allergens on their menus.
The Nima device works by placing a small food item in a disposable capsule, twisting the cap, and inserting the capsule into the main sensor of the Nima device. Within two to three minutes, the Nima will let you know if the food is safe to eat by displaying a smiley on the screen. If the food is gluten-free, a smiley is displayed; if not, a frown is displayed.
A variety of foods can be tested, from soups and sauces to baked and fried foods. Using a combination of chemical and mechanical processes, Nima crushes the food in the capsule and dissolves it in a proprietary blend of enzymes and antibodies that indicate gluten. The sensitivity for gluten is so high that gluten is detected at levels as low as 20 ppm, the FDA limit for the maximum level allowed in foods labeled gluten-free. [This number is based on approximately 2,000 tests comparing the gluten sensitivity of various foods. [However, the nima is not a medical or diagnostic tool, but a tool to learn more about foods.
There are still several problems. Most importantly, Nima can only test a portion of the food the user puts into the device, so it cannot guarantee that all food is gluten-free.
Nima avoids cross-contamination with the device itself by using disposable capsules. This design could later be extended to capsules for other allergies, and development of capsules for milk and peanut allergy testing is already underway.