Alexis Fowler, CFNN Reporter

Life for people with allergies is starting to change forever. How amazing would it be if everyone could know every bit of information about their food before eating it?

It all started in February 2017 when a product called Nima was released. Nima is a food sensor that is able to tell when a product contains gluten. The company didn’t stop there, in September of 2018, they released a sensor that detects peanuts in food as well.

This is huge considering about 20 million people in the United States are gluten sensitive. Peanut allergies are expected to affect about 1.8 million people in the United States. This can save lives, but there is one thing holding people back – the price tag.

The Nima peanut and gluten sensors are about $230 each. That does not include the capsules needed to run the sensor, which run about $40 for six. That means they will have to be replaced often because the capsules are for one time use only. This makes the entire system incredibly expensive over time.

Nima may be the main product, but there are other options.

The Allergy Amulet

The Allergy Amulet, which plans to start pre-sales in the early spring of 2020 is a lot cheaper. The product is going to cost somewhere between $150 and $200. The test strips needed to use the product are only going to be $3 each. This makes the Allergy Amulet more convenient and able to be used every day if needed. 

This product is also wearable because it is so small and portable, unlike the Nima. They plan to be able to test peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, wheat, eggs, milk, and soy but, they will only launch one or two for the initial launch. There is also the Sensogenic, which is going to be affordable as well, but it is not planned to released until 2022.

The best thing about these products that the number of people who experience anaphylaxis will potentially decrease. Anaphylaxis is a serious life-threatening allergic reaction that results in a hospital visit and sometimes the use of an epi-pen.

This could help get rid of the fact that about five people die every day from allergic reactions. Innovation is changing our world one day at a time!