An Automated Way to Give Food "The Sniff Test"

A new device to analyze what’s in your food and drink.

Between pesticides sprayed on our fruit and vegetables and dangerous lead levels in our drinking water, it’s about time we had a way to find out what’s really in all that we eat and drink—before we consume it.

Enter MyDx (My Diagnostic), a portable analyzer and smartphone app that leverages electronic nose nanotechnology to measure the chemical content in any solid, liquid or gas sample.

MyDx was founded by Daniel Yazbeck, a former Pfizer scientist and Panasonic technology developer, who is concerned about the dangerous chemicals in our daily lives, some of which have been linked to cancer. At the same time, studies show that organic foods have fewer pesticides and contain higher levels of antioxidants. But not all foods are labeled honestly. So, he set out to find a way to verify what we are buying and eating.

After licensing some of the technology developed and deployed on the NASA space shuttle to detect chemical leaks for astronauts, and spending more than $7 million in esearch and development dollars to make the app consumer-ready, Yazbeck can finally  see MyDx entering commercialization. The first target market for MyDx is medical cannabis patients, as the app provides them with a way to track medically relevant cannabinoids and terpenes to find a strain that helps them alleviate pain or other symptoms.

In addition, currently in development are sensors that measure the pesticide levels in food and test for impurities in drinking water. The company even has a sensor that measures the air quality. Now we can all eat, drink and breathe easy!