An Integrated, Accurate, and Rapid Peanut Allergen Detector for Consumers

Pain PointThis Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project proposes to develop an unprecedentedall in one handheld device that integrates food processingassay chemistry and data interpretationthereby allowing consumers to easily test their food for peanut andin the futureother food allergensFood allergies are a growing food safety and public health concern in the United StatesGuptaRJAMA PediatricsLiuAHJ Allergy Clin Immunolaffectingof the children underandof adultsReport of the NIH Expert Panel on Food Allergy ResearchPeanut allergy is the most common cause of food allergyrelated fatalities in the USBockS AJ Allergy Clin ImmunolAmong childrenpeanut is the most prevalent dietary allergyaccounting forof all food allergiesA strict and lifelong peanut free diet is the only current treatment for these patientsbut it can be difficult to adhere to because ofacross contamination during food manufacturing and preparation processes andbinadequate labeling and testing mechanismsRemingtonB CFood Chem ToxicolTraditional peanut tests arecomplicatedmost kits requiresteps and certain steps involve equipment that is not readily available to the usersuch as a scale or grinding deviceexpensivecosting more than $per testandtime consumingtaking longer thanmin per testFundamentallythere does not exist a consumer oriented product that peanut sensitive individuals can use to proactively ensure the safety of their foodTechnological InnovationNima is building the first and only rapid and user friendly solution that enables consumers to test their food for dietary allergensThe all in onehandheld deviceNimaTMinternally grinds the foodextracts allergen proteinsspecifically peanut protein under this proposalwith Nima s proprietary extraction solutionperforms the immunoassay and interprets the resultall withinminutesPerforming all of these operations internally significantly simplifies the testminimizes opportunities for user error and variation and builds confidence in the test resultFurtherusers will have the option to automatically upload test results via Bluetooth to a mobile app that Nima is buildingResults will be collected by both consumers and the Nima team and automatically entered into a databaseNima aims to build the largest living allergenand glutentest result database in the USwhich will serve as a resource to the community living with food allergiesso that consumers can make smarter decisions about where and what to eatBroader Impacts of the Technology are to provide food sensitive individualstheir parents or other caregivershealth care providers and food manufacturers with an easy means of testing foodsensuring food safety and improving healthWhile Nima s first productnow on the marketfocused on gluten detection and the second will focus on peanut detectionthis technology platform is expected to expand to the detection of other common food allergens or irritantsincluding tree nutsdairy productseggs and soyamong others