CES 2026: New pocket lab detects dairy, gluten allergens in 2 minutes

At CES 2026, French startup Allergen Alert introduced a portable “mini lab” device designed to detect common food allergens such as gluten, dairy, and peanuts within two minutes. Roughly the size of a paperback book, the battery-operated gadget uses single-use testing pouches to analyze food samples with lab-grade precision, displaying results on the device or a connected smartphone app. The technology was inspired by the personal experience of CEO Bénédicte Astier, whose daughter suffered a life-threatening dairy allergy reaction, motivating her to create a reliable, on-the-spot food testing solution. Scheduled for release in late 2026 at around $200, the device targets individuals with allergies, families, hospitality providers, schools, hospitals, and travel operators, aiming to reduce the risk of severe allergic reactions that frequently occur outside the home. Users will subscribe monthly for testing pouches, currently able to detect one allergen at a time, with plans to develop multiplex pouches for simultaneous multi-allergen