Allergen Alert has unveiled a portable device being developed to automate the detection of gluten and allergens in meals.

The French startup’s device comes in the form of a ‘mini lab’ that analyses a food sample placed within a single-use pouch. The device uses immunoassay technology to analyse food samples and detect the presence of the ‘most common and critical’ allergens and gluten, with results displayed on a screen atop the device ‘within minutes’.

Allergen is publicly showcasing its device for the first time at CES 2026, taking place in Las Vegas from 6-9 January.

In October 2025, Allergen raised €3.6m ($4.2m) from the Metropolitan Industrial Seed Fund managed by French VC Demeter Partners, with additional funds originating from bioMérieux.

Allergen started life within bioMérieux’s InVENTURE incubation programme and spun out from the diagnostics company in 2024 having obtained a licence to use its advanced detection technology to develop its device.

Allergen Alert’s founder and CEO, Bénédicte Astier explained that the device’s development was prompted when her daughter went into anaphylactic shock after a meal.

“I experienced what too many families know all too well: the fear that life can change because of a single meal,” she said.

“I realised we needed an extra safety belt; a way to test food anywhere, at any moment … Something concrete, reliable, and immediate that gives back control to people with allergies and those who care for them,” she continued.

Allergen plans to market its device to the tourism and hospitality industries, with pre-orders available by the end of 2026. Given the company’s pre-launch development stage, the exact allergens the device will detect have not been publicly disclosed. However, the company previously stated that within three years, it aims for the device to cover the nine major allergens (milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame) and expand into other needs identified by users and partners in food service and healthcare.

While no other kits for directly testing food samples for allergens are commercially available, other products in development include Allergy Amulet's food sensor. Meanwhile, Massachusetts General Hospital has developed an allergy detection device called iEAT, yet this currently only exists as a research prototype.