Many people in the Beyond Celiac community are asking about the Nima device. Nima is a device that is the first of its kind. It is a small, portable device that can be used to test foods for gluten. While this device is an innovation in the field, the decision of when and how to use the Nima is a complicated one.

The most important thing to understand about the Nima, in our opinion, is the fact that the Nima device may show “gluten found” if trace amounts, sometimes BELOW 20 parts per million (ppm), are found. This means that a restaurant, or manufacturer, or family member, might be doing exactly the right things, and the Nima might still show a positive reading.

Another important factor: When trying to understand the risks we take when we eat out, we don’t know how much gluten exposure is from isolated cross-contact, and how much stems from the lack of clean, validated gluten-free ingredients. Not all foods and beverages can be tested accurately with the Nima and some foods need to be tested in a certain way in order to get an accurate reading. Sampling methods that experts use to determine the safety of our gluten-free food supply can be complicated.

What is Nima?

Nima is a portable device that tests pea-sized samples of food for gluten.

How do you use Nima?

Before you use the Nima, read allof the directions, both in the informational packet. There are manythings to know about the device to get accurate results. Once you have fully read the Nima.

You take a pea-sized sample of food and add it to the single-use capsules that come with Nima. You twist the cap tightly on the capsule and slide it into the Nima. After three minutes, a smiley face or a wheat stalk will appear with the words “gluten found.” A smiley face means gluten has not been detected. It’s important to know that just because Nima did not detect gluten in the sample, that does not automatically mean that there is zero gluten in the dish.

What foods can I test with Nima?

Nima cannot accurately test all foods. Beer, alcohol, vinegar and soy sauce, for example, should not be tested with Nima. This goes for all fermented or hydrolyzed products. When foods are fermented or hydrolyzed, any gluten will be broken down into tiny particles. This makes it nearly impossible to get an accurate reading with Nima and other scientific testing. There’s a helpful post about this on the Nima blog.    Read More..

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