A group of friends with engineering and business backgrounds decided to team up in their entrepreneurial senior project class, brainstorming ideas for a project that would cap off their college careers. After much discussion, they chose to pursue a project in a field they hadn’t formally studied but that had personally affected their lives: food safety.
“We wanted to create a safer world for people with food allergies,” said Nahal Sadeghian, who recently graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in business. Since emigrating from Iran at age 9, she has faced digestive challenges due to differences in food quality.
Throughout the year, the team – including graduates Mitchell Dann (mechanical engineering), Josh Chao (business administration) and Avery Taylor (computer engineering) – developed a method using infrared technology to help food manufacturers ensure their products are accurately tested.
“We were a group of good friends tackling a challenging project together,” Dann said.
They introduced SafePlate Technologies to a panel of judges at the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s annual Innovation Quest. Now, they are advancing their startup through the CIE’s Summer Accelerator, a 12-week program that provides students with essential resources to build their businesses.
“People ask us why we don’t have anyone from food science on our team,” Dann said.
Chao countered, “That’s because we believe in Learn by Doing!” he exclaimed, as they all shared a good laugh.
Driven by Experiences
Chao, Dann and Sadeghian were friends – and now roommates – when they began their senior project class. There, they met Taylor, who became SafePlate’s chief technology officer and will begin a master’s in electrical engineering at Cal Poly in the fall.
Their shared experience includes candid conversations about how food allergies have affected their lives directly or indirectly. Chao’s mother has severe food allergies, and Dann’s mother must avoid soy. Sadeghian continues to navigate her own journey toward dietary health as she manages foods that will tax her digestive system.
“It’s concerning how many people develop food allergies,” Dann said.
In the United States, approximately 32 million people have food allergies, including 5.6 million children under age 18. The most common food allergens include shellfish, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, wheat, soy and sesame.
The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test is the method of choice employed by food manufacturers to detect allergens in food. This test uses antibodies to bind to allergen proteins in food samples, causing a color change to confirm the presence of the allergen.
“You swab a sample, use a test strip and get a result in 15-30 minutes,” Sadeghian said.
The shortcoming is that manufacturers can’t use a simple test strip to detect salmonella. Instead, they often to have outsource this testing to a lab, with results taking upwards of 48 hours. ELISA strips also don’t work effectively with hydrolyzed foods such as sauerkraut or pickled items.
As they explored alternatives, Taylor discovered a research paper on spectrometry, a technique used to measure the mass and concentration of particles, for detecting food allergens.
“This is new technology that’s been around but hasn’t been used in manufacturing,” Dann explained. “We realized we could reduce the time for testing and costs involved for food manufacturers.”
Passing the ‘Mom Test’
The team headed to a lab on the third floor of the Baker Center for Science & Mathematics to replicate the research paper’s results and test their theory of using infrared technology to identify specific proteins in food samples.
They began by mixing their own samples of corn flour and pure gluten, using the spectrometer to scan for gluten. Their aim is to achieve 1,000 scans to train and optimize an artificial intelligence model.
“We need the data on concentration levels to be accurate to avoid food recalls, and we want to make the process as simple as possible for the user,” said Dann, SafePlate’s chief operating officer of mechanical design.
Sadeghian, serving as SafePlate’s CEO, explained that their objective is for the operator to simply place a sample in the device, scan it and then receive a report on the concentration of allergens, with results available in as little as 3 minutes.
Another benefit, she noted, is that the data will be stored both physically and digitally. Currently, some manufacturers only maintain physical records.
While SafePlate’s technical advancements are underway, Chao, acting as chief financial officer, is crafting a pitch to potential investors to build traction within the industry. He emphasized the importance of passing what the team calls the “mom test.”
“Some reactions from industry professionals can mimic those of a proud mom saying, ‘Ooooh, that’s such a good idea!’” Chao explained. “We want to move beyond that and secure real investment in a company we believe can succeed.”
As they pursue their goal, the SafePlate founders and friends continue learning from each other and about an industry previously unknown to them, one they now hope to impact significantly.
“It’s rewarding to apply the skills we learned in the classroom to real-world challenges,” Chao said. “Building something from the ground up comes with many lows and a few highs, but the highs make up for the lows 100%.”
By Emily Slater
About the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The CIE opens a world of entrepreneurial opportunities to Cal Poly students, faculty and community members, and promotes entrepreneurial activity and dialogue across the university and throughout San Luis Obispo County. For more information, visit here.
