sciencetech-blog

comments

Open your fridge door and you're likely to find an item or two that is past its use-by date, but still looks perfectly edible.

Do you chance it or bin it? Well, now the dilemma is over thanks to a new kitchen gadget.

The Foodsniffer can detect whether a food is past its best simply by 'smelling it' and sending the results to your phone.

Nosy: The Foodsniffer (pictured) analyses gases surrounding a food to reveal whether it is safe to eat

Its makers claim that it is world's first 'electronic nose', helping users to tell if any meat, poultry or fish in their fridge has gone off.

It uses special sensors to 'smell' temperature, humidity, ammonia and dangerous organic compounds present in food and then sends the results to a user's smartphone.

It was designed to reduce the risk of food poisoning by alerting people to the freshness of their food before they eat it.

It can also be used in shops and markets to guarantee any food bought is fresh and safe.

To check the freshness of food, users simply hold the Foodsniffer close to the food they want to test and activate a button.

The machine then takes a sample of the air surrounding the food, which is then analysed.

These results are then sent via Bluetooth to the user's smartphone.

Looks can be deceiving: The gadget's maker explained that some of the poisonous compounds that are produced when meat spoils are actually odourless. Here the gadget can be seen in action

The Foodsniffer was invented by Lithuanian inventor Augustas Alesiunas who came up with the idea after falling ill from food poisoning.

Mr Alesiunas said: 'Can you be confident that you can identify food quality just by the sense of smell?

'Some of the poisonous compounds that are produced when meat spoils are actually odourless.

'Unless you are preparing meals in a sterile laboratory you really don't have the ability to know.

'Early food spoilage can occur just because of contact with cookware or other foods stored in the fridge.

'The World Health Organisation estimates that one out of three people living in industrialised countries may be affected by food-borne illness each year.

'Having suffered through the horrible experience of food poisoning myself, I decided to create a device that would help families quickly and easily check the freshness and quality of food.' 

Foodsniffer was designed to reduce the risk of food poisoning by alerting people to the freshness of their food before they eat it. It can also be used in shops and markets to guarantee any food bought is fresh

The Foodsniffer costs £80 ($120) and will be officially launched in March.

A spokesman for ARS Lab added: 'Foodsniffer is the world's first portable "electronic nose" - a unique and innovative device and mobile application which enables users to determine the quality and freshness of pork beef, chicken, fish.

'Foodsniffer helps to determine are these products are sound and suitable to use - this reduces the risk of food poisoning.

'It's a device that helps everyone who cares about nutrition of themselves and their loved ones to quickly evaluate what they are going to eat themselves or offer their family or quests. 

'Foodsniffer can also be used on food products that have already been bought to ascertain whether they are still safe to consume, thereby potentially reducing food wastage.'