Optimistic coverage of “portable gluten test” lacks some key context

Our Review Summary

This feature story describes a start-up company’s plans to soon begin marketing a pocket-sized device said to quickly detect gluten in any food with “99.9 per cent” accuracy. To its credit, the article makes clear that the device, called Nima, is neither FDA-approved, nor meant to diagnose or manage celiac disease or “gluten intolerance.”  And it goes to some lengths to put gluten-related health problems in perspective and avoid disease mongering, making clear that Nima’s gluten test is designed only to help those dining out test restaurant and party foods for a protein with the potential to make them sick. However, the story offers no quantitative or other evidence for the accuracy of the device; doesn’t discuss harms; and it could have done a better job of noting that the “gluten free” food craze has lured huge numbers of customers with no documented history of celiac disease to buy expensive (and often taste-free) products. The story surprisingly did not mention that the device’s developers had a National Institutes of Health “Innovation” grant (SBIR), and it could also have been strengthened by noting there is at least one other company that claims to also have quick “gluten tests” for sale to consumers, and at a far lower price than the $179 introductory price for Nima mentioned in the piece. A reader (and certainly these reviewers) might also well consider the story premature, given that the company is taking only “pre-orders” for a product it says won’t be available until mid-2016, and that is still being tested.

Why This Matters

As the story points out, people with celiac disease, an immune system disorder, experience miserable GI and other medical symptoms, and possible intestinal damage, when they ingest even small amounts of gluten protein, which is abundant in products made with wheat, barley and rye. For them, eating anything they didn’t carefully prepare themselves at home poses a risk, and having a two-minute test might indeed help them avoid some kinds of gluten exposure. Products that provide more freedom to consumers with dietary restrictions are potentially quite useful, and it is very likely there will be more such products to follow (the story mentions development plans). Individuals with celiac disease could avoid much, if not all, of the problem, by eating only unbreaded fish, meat, and chicken; ordering unsauced green veggies; and avoiding pastas, breads, croutons or any salad dressing other than oil and vinegar they mix at the table. But that’s a tough diet, and it’s difficult to avoid cross-contamination of gluten products in restaurants. Even  gluten-free menu choices (and supermarket products) may not be as gluten-free as advertised.