The TellSpec food scanner could be the next best thing for those who have severe allergies or those who wish to eliminate certain ingredients from their diets.
It was developed by entrepreneur Isabel Hoffman, who came up with the idea because her young daughter experienced mysterious physical symptoms that were caused by allergens. While eating dinner one evening with a business partner, York University math professor Stephen Watson, Hoffman picked up a flash drive and explained her vision: “Imagine a device the size of a flash drive that could scan food, scan the air, and tell me what kind of pollution I encountered today.”
How does it work? A laser scans food and measures the light that’s reflected and determines an item’s chemical composition and sends the information to a smartphone app that uses TellSpec’s algorithms to measure the qualities of what’s in the food.
The TellSpec can reportedly calculate all the calories, ingredients, chemicals, and allergens in any given piece of food. The device will also detect trans fats, gluten and tetrazine in products where these ingredients are listed on product labels.
The product is not available just yet, as the company is raising funds for the development and manufacture of TellSpec.
The makers of TellSpec will offer early backers the device and two years of unlimited food scan analysis for $150.
