Nima announces a $289 portable peanut allergy tester

Peanut allergy is common and now there’s a new way to detect if a food substance contains the ingredient. Nima’s Peanut is a small, self-contained unit used to detect peanuts. And like Nima’s gluten detector, it seems quick and easy to use.

In both the peanut and gluten tester, the user places a pea-size chunk of food into the single-use testing tube. After this tube is placed into the Nima, the device uses different sensors and chemistry to detect either peanuts or gluten. The results are delivered in about three minutes.

Nima says the sensors can detect peanut or gluten to 20 parts per million at a 99 percent accuracy.

Peanut is available for pre-order now and will ship later this year with a 12-pack of test capsules. It’s $60 off at $229 if pre-ordered before March 8, 2018. Additional capsule 12-packs will cost $72 or $59 through auto-delivery or the premium membership program.

The company is today also announcing an improved version of its gluten tester and a subscription plan that provides users with test capsules at a discounted price.

I’ve used the first generation Nima device for gluten and it’s a wonderful device. My daughter has Celiac disease and the Nima has saved us several times at restaurants. The downside is the cost. We don’t use it every time. We only break the Nima out when a food substance deemed gluten free looks questionable.

Gluten is now available for $289 and ships with a 12-pack of test capsules. Additional capsule 12-packs will cost $72 or $59 through auto-delivery or the premium membership program that costs $9.99 a month.

The company was founded in October, 2013 and was original known as 6SensorLab. At CES 2016, the company won TechCrunch’s Hardware Battlefield. Since its founding, the company has raised $13.2 million in funding from the likes of Foundry Group, Kapor Capital, Lemnos Labs, and Nest co-founder, Matt Rogers.