NEXT: A Microwave that heats up and calculates food’s nutritional value

gecalcounter

There is serious competition in the Food Tech world!

First came apps like My Fitness Pal that help you easily monitor your caloric intake in many common foods. Then came TellSpec, a device that purported to tell you the nutritional information about a food that by aiming it at your food and scanning it.  And then , came Vessly which promised to do the same for liquids.

Finally, GE Researchers have even one-upped all those guys by introducing a microwave type contraption that will give you the dietary information of your food as it warms it up!

GE contends that its system uses microwaves to accurately estimate the calories on a dinner plate, and it surpasses apps.

According to Matt Webster, senior scientist specializing in imaging and biomedical technologies at GE’s lab, the primary issue with existing calorie-counting apps is that the amount of calories in a piece of food—say a tuna sandwich or a salad—can vary greatly from plate to plate and from preparation to preparation, Smithsonian writes.

“How well does that burger you ate match with the burger you selected using an app? Are the serving sizes the same? Do any of the app database entries accurately reflect what you cook at home?” he wrote in a blog post about the project, which he led.
Webster’s system calibrates the food’s weight, fat content and water content, and the amount of sugars, carbs and proteins are dissected and determined as microwaves bounce through the food. errrr. okay.

Sounds legit. Check out a video from GE explaining the contraption, which is still in early prototype stages.