Patent Document

RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/102,768, filed Oct. 3, 2008, titled “Assessing Characteristics of Food”, and which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Safe ingredients and freshness are generally desired characteristics of food products. Yet, consumers are not always able to determine the components of food and/or freshness of food before purchasing or consuming the food. Often, simply smelling or looking at food may not be sufficient to determine the safety and freshness of the food before consumption. Additionally, food allergies are commonplace, and it may be difficult for a consumer to determine whether any allergy-causing ingredients are present in a food product. For instance, a food&#39;s characteristics may not be readily apparent and/or correctly represented on a package label. Allergic reactions to food may vary from minor discomfort to death. Moreover, although certain food product ingredients may not be harmful in small quantities, those same ingredients may be harmful if present in excessive quantities. For instance, food additives may be present in food products in harmful quantities (e.g., exceeding domestic and/or international safety standards). A consumer may not be able to determine the safety of food from simple sight or smell indicators. 
     SUMMARY 
     Systems and methods for a handheld food additive detector are described. In one aspect, the food additive detector includes a test strip that has been treated with chemical(s) reactive to at least one target food characteristic such as an additive. An end-user places a sample of a food product to be tested for the one or more food characteristics on the test strip. Certain characteristics of the test strip (“strip characteristics”) will change responsive to contact with the food sample. A sensor operatively coupled to the handheld food additive detector measures one or more of the strip characteristics (e.g., color, contrast, etc.). In one implementation, such sensor measurement operations are automatically performed responsive to the food sample being detected/placed on the test strip, a button press, and/or so on, to generate a set of measurement values. A processing unit operatively coupled to the handheld food analysis detector analyzes the sensor measurement value(s) to determine presence, quantity, concentration, percentage, relative amount, and/or so on, of the target food additive(s), or other characteristics of the food that pertain, for example, to freshness or staleness. Results of the analysis are presented to the end user. 
     This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form further described below in the detailed description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the apparatus and methods for assessing characteristics of food are set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it is to be understood that both the foregoing Summary and the following detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the apparatus and methods for assessing characteristics of food, as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows an exemplary apparatus for assessing the status of food, according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  shows an exemplary apparatus for assessing the status of food, according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  shows an exemplary method for assessing the status of food, according to one embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Overview 
     Traditionally, a person determines components of a food product (food) by taking the food to an institutional laboratory, wherein sophisticated and generally expensive technology may be utilized to examine the food and determine its constituent makeup (components). In such a scenario, it is possible that the person will have to wait for hours, days, or weeks to receive results of the component analysis for evaluation. Moreover, unless the user has straightforward and prioritized access to such a laboratory, obtaining food component analysis results will generally be time consuming and expensive. Clearly, this is not a viable solution in many situations. The systems and methods described below with respect to  FIGS. 1-3  address these and other limitations of conventional techniques to determine components and characteristics of food products, and present such component results and/or characteristics to an end user for evaluation. 
     In one implementation, for example, a handheld portable apparatus for food analysis is described that provides substantially immediate food component analysis results to a user (e.g., via a display device, a printout, audio output, and/or so on). In this implementation, the user provides a sample of food (e.g., in contact with or in proximity to) to an analyzing structure in the portable device for chemical analysis of the food. Such analysis, for example, may indicate the presence, absence, amounts (e.g., parts-per-million, milligrams, grams, ounces, percentages, and/or so on) of components of a given food product (e.g., on a per sample basis, etc.). Such components may include, for example, one or more of ingredients, allergens, preservatives, colorings/dyes, flavorings, etc. The components and respective component amounts identified via such food analysis are arbitrary, being a function of the characteristics of the food being analyzed, the particular analysis algorithms implemented by the apparatus for food analysis, and configurable functional characteristics of the apparatus. In one implementation, the apparatus stores food analysis results in a computer-readable memory (local and/or remote memory) for later use (e.g., in association with subsequent and/or prior food analysis calculations and/or selective recall by a user). 
     In one implementation, for example, the food analysis methods and apparatus provide a user interface (e.g., keys, voice recognition, and/or other selection mechanisms) to allow a user to specify a particular set of characteristics (e.g., components, a relative indication of freshness, and/or so on) of the food for which the apparatus is to analyze the food and present corresponding results to the user. In another implementation, the analyzing structure is a test strip (e.g., a consumable, plastic, reusable, permanent, and/or disposable element) containing chemicals that react with particular ones of food product components. In another implementation, such characteristics or analysis parameters are automatically selected or predefined for the apparatus. In one implementation, the test strip is porous and manufactured in a rectangular shape, the test strip may include an internal cavity to hold respective reactive materials/chemicals. 
     For example, if a user desires to identify an emulsion material such as starch in a food sample, the test strip may be treated with, or otherwise comprise, iodine. In this example, after contact with a food sample comprising starch, the treated test strip will change color (blue) as a function of the level of starch in the sample. A visual sensor in the food analysis system measures, for example, contrast of the resulting color on the strip to determine an amount or level of starch in the sample. Processing means in the food analysis system converts the contrast measurement into a result for presentation to the user. For instance, the user may wish to determine mere presence of the additive. In another example, the user may desire to determine a relative amount of starch and the food sample, such as a percentage, a concentration, or a high, low, or medium amount of starch in the food sample as compared to a baseline/threshold amount. 
     In another example, a test strip for the food analysis device of this disclosure is designed to identify characteristics of a food sample that comprises Benzo-A-Pyren (C 20 H 12 ). Upon contact with the test strip, a food sample comprising this chemical will cause the strip to change color based on the concentration of the chemical in the sample. A photo sensor in the food analysis apparatus measures the color characteristics to determine a concentration of the chemical in the sample. Corresponding results are then presented in one or more forms or modes to the user. 
       FIG. 1  shows an exemplary food analysis device/apparatus  101  for assessing characteristics of food according to one embodiment. In one implementation, a small sample of a food is supplied to the apparatus  101 . The sample may be a liquid, solid, or a combination of liquid and solid. In this example, the sample is placed in contact with a test strip  103  operatively coupled to the apparatus  101 . The food sample may be solid, or otherwise. Also, the test strip  103  may be subjected to a liquid portion (e.g., dipped into) of the sample food product for analysis. A test strip reader  105  utilizes one or more chemical analysis techniques to determine the presence, absence, or amount of a selected and/or predetermined sets of compounds in the sample based upon a reading from the test strip  103 . Results of the test strip reader analysis (shown as a respective portion of “Program Data”  109 ) are output to processor  107 . 
     Processor  107  executes computer program instructions in one or more computer program modules  111  to process the results to determine status (e.g., composition and/or relative freshness) of the food product. The status of the food product may be stored in the program data  109  portion of memory  113  that is operatively coupled to the processor  107 . The status, shown as output  121 , of the food product may be output to a visual display  115  and/or an auditory display  117 . The audio output may include the name of a detected compound (or set of compounds), an indication of whether the food is fresh, an indication of whether the food product is safe to eat (e.g., in view of a user-input set of criteria such as known food allergies, user preferences, medications currently being taken, etc.), and/or so on. The output  121  may include, for example, the name of the selected compound, the type, quantity, and/or concentration in the food product. The output may also include comparisons to applicable standards. The applicable standards may be predetermined and may be set, for example, by county, state, or federal regulations. The apparatus  101  may be preset to meet regulations in a particular location, a particular cultural setting, desired diet, etc. The output may be stored in the memory  111  for future reference and/or reporting (e.g., to applicable regulatory agencies, etc.). 
     A visual display  115  may be an LED or other type of screen. The auditory display  117  may be an audio device, such as a speaker. In one implementation, apparatus  101  has data handling capabilities, wherein data is input to the system with an input device  119 , such as a keypad, keyboard, voice recognition, USB, etc. Additionally, data from the memory  111  may be downloaded by an output device  121 , such as a cable, wireless, or infrared connection to an external computing device to store, display, or further analyze the test results. Although displays  115  and  117  are shown as being incorporated in the device  101 , other embodiments of the device  101  do not incorporate one or more of the displays  115  and  117 , but rather, one or more of the displays are operatively coupled to the device to receive output  121  for presentation to the user. Additionally, although the device is shown with both displays  115  and  117 , other embodiments of the device comprise, or are remotely coupled, to less or more of such displays. 
       FIG. 2  shows an exemplary apparatus  201  for assessing characteristics of food according to one embodiment. The apparatus of  FIG. 2  generally operates similarly to the exemplary apparatus  101  of  FIG. 1 . In  FIG. 2 , a cylindrical or other shaped sampler  203  may be used to take a sample of a food product. A test strip  205  may be held within the sampler  203 . As the food sample is drawn into the sampler  203 , a test strip reader  207  may determine food characteristics such as the presence, absence, or amount of a selected compound in the sample based upon a reading from the test strip  205 . The results of the test strip reader analysis may be output to a processor  209 , which may be located on a separate analysis unit  211 . The processor  209  executed computer program instructions in one or more computer program modules located in memory  213  to process the results and determine status of the food product. The status of the food product (a respective portion of program data in memory  213 ) may be output, to a visual display  215 , an auditory display  217 , or other type of output device such as a bar code writer or printer (e.g., to accordingly label the food or a food container). A visual display  215  may be an LED or other type of screen. The auditory display  217  may be an audio device, such as a speaker. The audio output may include the name of the compound and whether the food product is safe to eat in view of a predetermined and possibly configurable set of criteria. Such criteria may be provided as user input  219 . 
     Furthermore, a detector of  FIGS. 1  and/or  2  may detect/determine/calculate a validation date and/or chemicals caused by spoiling food products to determine whether the food product is fresh or spoiled. Products may be marked with validation data, such as use-by or sell-by dates. This information may be embedded in scanner-readable devices, such as bar codes and/or radio frequency identification tags. The apparatus may include a reader for accessing the validation data to determine suitability of the food product for consumption. In another exemplary implementation, the detector may determine the presence of chemicals associated with spoiling food products. The chemicals may be detected in a similar process as used to determine the presence, absence, or amount of a selected compound in the food product. Threshold levels of these chemicals may be stored in a memory. The user is notified as to whether the food product is safe to eat by an output device. 
     Apparatus  201  may have data handling capabilities. Data may be input to the system with an input device  219 , such as a keypad, keyboard, USB, etc. Data from the memory  213  may be communicated to an output device  221 , e.g., via a cable, wireless, or infrared connection, such as a bar code writing device, a remote computing device to store, display, or further analyze the test results, and/or so on. 
       FIG. 3  shows an exemplary procedure  301  for assessing characteristics of food according to one embodiment. A sample of the food product may be provided to a test strip  303 . A quantity of a compound in the sample may be determined at a test strip reader  305 . The results of the determining from the test strip reader may be output  307 . The results may be received at a processor  309 . The processor may process the results to determine the status of the food product  311 . The status of the food product may be output to a user  313  for evaluation. 
     The above-described exemplary embodiments of apparatus and methods for assessing characteristics of food via a food additive detector device/apparatus are presented for illustrative purposes only. While these apparatus and methods for assessing characteristics of food are satisfied by embodiments in many different forms, it is understood that the present disclosure is to be considered as exemplary and is not intended to limit the described systems and methods to the specific embodiments illustrated and described herein. Numerous variations may be made by persons skilled in the art without departure from the spirit of this description. Moreover, features described in connection with one embodiment may be used in conjunction with other embodiments, even if not explicitly stated above. The scope of the apparatus and methods for assessing characteristics of food will be measured by the appended claims and their equivalents. The abstract and the title are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the claims, as their purpose is to enable the appropriate authorities, as well as the general public, to quickly determine the general nature of the described systems and methods. In the claims that follow, unless the term “means” is used, none of the features or elements recited therein should be construed as means-plus-function limitations pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶6.

Technology Category: 3