Just when you thought your iPhone couldn’t get any smarter, it looks like it’s now got a knack for telling you what’s organic. And what’s not.
A company called Lapka has created a free app and accompanying “personal environment monitor” that you can attach to your iPhone. This gadget can measure the nitrate concentration in your food, signaling whether that tomato at the farmers exhibit is really organic. Nitrate is used in non-organic fertilizers. So if your new gadget detects any residue, that pretty much means the organic label you’re staring at is fraudulent.
In the near future, the company says the device will also come with attachments to detect an array of other things like: radiation, electromagnetism and humidity. These should be available for sale to the public by the end of the year.
The nitrate-detector currently comes in a chic white, plastic cover made from recycled materials. The gadget costs a hefty $220, so it’s definitely not cheap.
Users will be able to take “snapshots” of the nitrate readings and share that information the way they would with regular photographs.
According to tech experts, there are plenty of uses for this new invention. The professional, scientific community may want a “personal environment monitor” when looking for a place to set up hospitals and restaurants. But for amateurs like us, it’s a great way to detect if that suspicious odour from your partner’s side of the bed is tame, or just plain rancid!
very nice idea….
It would be very useful if a similar application could be developed to detect GMO products. Then the labeling would not be absolutely necessary (although always desirable).