Interview w/ Isabel Hoffmann: Her TellSpec device can tell us what allergens & pesticides are in our food.

ARTICLE UPDATE: I regret to report that I have decided to temporarily suspend access to this article. A few credible doubts about the technology have come to The Tender Foodie’s attention, and an interesting discussion has developed in James Randi Educational Foundation Forum, where Dr. Stephen Watson, TellSpec's CTO ("drswatson") is responding with the participants. You can follow that discussion here.

I'm suspending access to the article, not because of the technical doubts/questions, this is a natural discussion and I"m excited to hear how things progress, but because in my excitement about this potentially ground-breaking product, we missed an important detail that came to light in the forum - that the device might not be ready to properly detect allergens at the time of its release, and during its initial testing in the public arena. I feel that there is a misunderstanding here that needs to be completely clarified before we re-post the article.  I've begun corresponding with TellSpec to clarify this, and suspect that this will take some time, but my plan is to re-post the article with the proper clarifications that mitigate the risk of further misunderstanding. I certainly enjoyed speaking to Isabel Hoffmann, TellSpec's CEO during the interview, and should it prove appropriate, look forward to re-posting that interview at the proper time.

The Tender Foodie certainly hopes that this device could be created with great success for the food allergic community, and looks forward to any technical developments and information/proof regarding those developments.  Thank you for your patience.

 Visit the TellSpec Website here.

Other articles about this device:

Fast Company:http://www.fastcoexist.com/3020813/fund-this/point-this-magical-scanner-at-your-food-and-it-will-count-the-calories

Financial Post:http://business.financialpost.com/2013/10/21/how-one-entrepreneur-is-revolutionizing-the-food-industry/

Engadget: TellSpec identifies food ingredients and calories using science

Betakit: http://www.betakit.com/is-tellspec-the-star-trek-tricorder-we-have-been-waiting-for/

CanadianBusiness: Coming soon to your phone: handheld food safety 

Metro News:http://metronews.ca/news/toronto/830736/scanner-analyzes-chemical-makeup-of-your-food/

Health habits:TellSpec answers the question…what is in that food?

Daily News (UK): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2452714/Tellspec-Future-dieting-Gadget-tells-calories-dinner-scanning.html

Silicon Angel:http://siliconangle.com/blog/2013/10/17/crowdfund-these-smart-gadgets-earring-bluetooth-audio-wrist-allergen-detectors/

Call Me! Wait - Recall me? Product Mistakes in Real Time.

OK, this isn't a really sexy post.  But isn't it nice when people, companies, and especially the government does something to make your life easier?  If a product has been recalled because of an undeclared allergen or nasty, unwanted micro-organisms, wouldn't it be nice have that piece of info delivered to your inbox -- rather than hear about it Ex Post Facto?  If you have a peanut, tree nut, wheat /gluten, dairy, seafood, shellfish, soy, or eggs, you can find out what products have made mistakes in real(ish) time. 

FDA Recall, Market Withdrawal & Safety Alerts

The FDA recently dropped a Press Release into the media about the improved search functionality for their recall database.  They've replaced some laborious text with a nice, easier-to-read table format.  You can sign up to receive email alerts right to your inbox, or add them to your RSS feed. 

To further step into the 21st Century, the FDA also has mobile apps - so you can bring food recalls - and even car and other product recalls right to your mobile phone.

Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN)

This organization if doing some good work out there.  You can sign up for alerts from FAAN, which includes their organizational news as well.  FAAN's focus is on allergies that cause an immediate life threatening response.