12Jul
30May
Consumers & Manufacturers: What you must know about gluten test results using the Nima Sensor
In Honor of Celiac Disease Awareness Month, Gluten Free Watchdog is writing a series of articles (the goal is one per day during the month of May) related to the gluten-free diet–currently the ONLY treatment for celiac disease. Post (#30)… At Gluten Free Watchdog we have been testing a wide variety of products with the Nima Sensor. It is very difficult to put results into the proper context due to the lack of a published validation report on this device. Four emerging themes from...
23Apr
Gluten Free Watchdog Position Statement on Consumer Use of the Nima Sensor to Test Food for Gluten
Bottom line: At Gluten Free Watchdog we have been testing a wide variety of products with the Nima Sensor. It is very difficult to put the results of testing completed to date into proper context due to the lack of a published validation report on this device. One goal of our testing is to provide recommendations for consumer use of the Nima Sensor. This is proving to be impossible at this time. In the opinion of Gluten Free Watchdog the Nima...
17Apr
What’s to blame for possible false positive “low gluten” test results using the Nima?
Bottom line: Gluten Free Watchdog has personally tested many products using the Nima Sensor. One of the issues slowly emerging is what appear to be false positives (e.g., defined by Gluten Free Watchdog as products testing “low gluten” when tested with the Nima but less than 1 ppm when tested with the R5 ELISA) when testing certain types of samples. The gluten-free foods (and products free of gluten-containing ingredients) testing “low gluten” using the Nima have similar ingredients and consistencies. Note:...
30Mar
R5 ELISA Test Results for Gluten-Containing Products Testing “Low Gluten” & “High Gluten” Using the Nima Sensor
Bottom Line: Based on testing done to date by Gluten Free Watchdog, products testing “low gluten” using Nima tested from below the limit of detection of 1 ppm gluten up to 18,963 ppm gluten using the R5 ELISA. Barley flour also tested low gluten. Based on these results it is difficult to assess the meaning or understand the usefulness of a “low gluten” Nima reading. Why did we test gluten-containing products: We tested a variety of gluten-containing products out of curiosity...
28Mar
Products testing low gluten using the Nima Sensor test less than 5 ppm using the R5 ELISA: False Positives?
Bottom Line: In some cases packaged food labeled gluten-free (or appearing to be free of gluten containing ingredients) testing “low gluten” using the Nima may test below the lower limit of quantification of 5 parts per million of gluten (and below the limit of detection of 1 ppm) using the fully validated R5 ELISA Mendez Method (Ridascreen Gliadin R7001). Comparison Testing: Results comparing the Nima to the R5 ELISA included in this summary report are for the same product. In other...
23Feb
Troubling Gluten Testing Data Released by Nima: But Hold the Phone
Yesterday the Nima Sensor team released testing data that has caused me a great deal of concern. They are reporting that 24% of packaged foods tested by consumers and uploaded to the Nima app have tested gluten detected. They are also reporting in a new graphic that it is very rare for the Nima to test positive for gluten at levels below 20 parts per million. BUT this is not the complete story. The Nima is NOT a fully validated ELISA....
17Jan
Lateral Flow Devices (Nima, Gluten Tox Home, EZ Gluten) to test food for gluten: Manufacturer & Consumer Use
This article was originally published in 2012 on glutenfreedietitian.com. Due to the marketing of the new consumer lateral flow device (LFD) NIMA there is a renewed interest in LFDs. An updated version of the article is republished here. If you are a manufacturer or consumer who currently uses or is thinking of using a LFD please take the time to read this article. Thank you to Thomas Grace of Bia Diagnostics, www.biadiagnostics.com and Adrian Rogers of Romer Labs https://www.romerlabs.com/ for sharing their expertise...
12Jan
Using Nima to test mustard for gluten contamination
The video is embedded below. First a recap of Nima testing to date … Sampling methodology for Nima: Gluten Free Watchdog has been assessing Nima's sampling methodology. Users are advised to place a small sample of food inside a disposable capsule. A small sample is defined as “pea sized.” In the opinion of Gluten Free Watchdog, this sampling method is not well suited for testing packaged foods that may have heterogeneous (unevenly distributed) gluten contamination or restaurant meals with spotty cross contact...
11Jan