A British student has developed a small portable device that tests food for the presence of allergens within a minute. It could be a cheap alternative to existing similar products.
Ally
Imogen Adams is studying Product Design Engineering and for her studies she developed the so-called 'Ally': a lightweight doughnut-sized device that allows food allergy patients to test their food for the presence of allergens very easily.
They do this by grinding up a small piece of the food in question and putting it into a small, flexible silicone sleeve along with a few drops of water. They then dip a test strip into this and then insert it into the Ally - a Bluetooth-enabled electronic device in a hard plastic shell.
When the attached app is opened and a button is pressed, it takes 60 seconds for the app to process the test. It then displays information about the food allergens. The Ally gives a negative or positive result through a vibration signal. The results can then be saved in the app and can be shared with an online community if desired.
Colour change
The strips used to test food are modified glucose test strips that contain lactase enzyme in part. If lactose is present in the food, the glucose strip changes colour. The stronger the colour change, the more lactose is present. This information is then read by a colour sensor in the electrical device.
The Ally would work even better with ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) technology, according to Adams. However, this strip was too expensive to use during the development phase. This sensitive method measures the concentration of a particular antigen (the molecule that can cause an immune response in a human) in a food sample. This method is also used in pregnancy tests, where the urine is checked for the presence of a specific hormone. With the Ally, the same theory can be used to look for a protein linked to the allergen.
Lactose
The student thinks Ally could become a mass-market product that will cost just over £30. So per test, users will only spend about 20 cents. A similar product that tests for gluten is currently sold in the US for $210.
Adams has focused her testing specifically on lactose, one of the most common food intolerances. Many people develop this intolerance between the ages of 20 and 40. It is particularly common among people from Asian and Caribbean backgrounds. The test is now also being tried for other allergies. Adams even hopes to eventually market a 'vega-test'; which tests food samples for the presence of meat or fish. This was also where the inspiration for the Ally originally came from.
By: Kelly Bakker
Source: Brunel University
