Food Allergies

Table-Top Tablets- A Boon for Restaurants, and Diners with Food Allergies

2014-01-13T15:31:00.001-08:00

by: Dilip Chopra

Like it or not, Table-top tablets are coming to a restaurant near you! When technologies this compelling are introduced, it is only a matter of time when they rapidly change existing landscapes.

Besides providing cost-savings and adding inefficiencies to a restaurant’s business model, these devices offer great advantages in terms of providing information to an increasing and, ever more-demanding base of diners who want to know what they are eating, and, the quality of the foods that they are consuming. According to the National Restaurant Association’s 2014 Trends Report, ‘locally-sourced’ and ‘Gluten-free’ foods are among the ‘top trends’ of the future. In short, all signs point to the fact that diners, besides wanting good tasting food, also have cravings for more information about their food. After all, we live in an age of information, interactivity and mobility!

Table-top ordering systems fill a gaping hole in the area of providing information, especially for diners whose entire dining experience (good or bad) depends on the avoidance of certain food ingredients.

Currently, diners with food allergies or gluten restrictions have to engage in a game of what may be described as the “allergy-pong”. Basically, this entails a ‘back and forth’ routine between diners, and restaurant-staff, around trying to find out which meals do not contain the ingredients that they are trying to avoid. Oftentimes, this game involves the engagement of the kitchen-staff including the chef. In most cases, even after playing this game, information obtained about food-content is not reliable or accurate. Given the hundreds of ingredients that go into the making of most restaurant menus, no one can be expected to remember all the ingredients, their many aliases or, their derivative sources. No, not even the chef who prepares the food!

No wonder, restaurants mostly are uneasy about confidently serving customers with food allergies.

Enter table-top tablets.

For diners with food allergies, these devices:

1. Can be a source of accurate menu information: They can ease the burden of providing accurate information at the “point of order” for restaurants. For restaurants that choose to provide ingredient details of their menu items, these tablets provide an excellent venue. No more need for playing the game of “allergy-pong”. Ingredient information so crucial for diners with food allergies can be accessed right at the table. Ingredient-changes can be updated instantly assuring up to minute accuracy. The paper menus of today cannot match this capability of real-time updates.

2. Provide a media for ‘relevant information’ dissemination: For those restaurants that want to improve the dining experience of their customers with food allergies, these devices provide an excellent venue for programs such as ‘Interactive Allergen Menus’ (www.gipsee.com) which instantly provide diners with menu options that fit their individual customized needs. Diners with food allergies simply select ingredients they wish to avoid and instantly view their meal options right at the table!

3. Improve the dining experience with more available options: Gipsee’sInteractive Allergen Menus, as an example, contain features such as “Alternate Suggestive” logic that suggest ‘substitutable’ options to diners. Example, if the ingredients of a particular sauce interfere with a diner’s selections, the system interactively, recommends another sauce that may be available and, safe to consume given their specific set of restrictions.

4. Are more than just meal-ordering machines: They can be efficient communication tools. Example, diners with food restrictions can send special comments/instructions to the kitchen staff regarding their food allergies sparing them the agony of having to enunciate their restrictions to the waiter/waitress. Why not ‘e-message’ the kitchen directly instead of risking communicating with the wait-staff? As diners with food allergies realize all too well, most wait-staff in restaurants do not completely understand the difference between allergies and preferences in the first place!

5. Are excellent means of gathering diner-reviews: Customers with food allergies now have a powerful tool at the table for providing reviews on their dining experience as well as the ability to share their experience with others via social media or, restaurant review sites like Yelp, Opentable, Urbanspoon.

6. Reduce risks: By providing accurate information these devices can reduce risk-factors (for both the restaurant and the diner) that exist today from miscommunications or misunderstandings about meal ingredients.

Of course, restaurants still need to pay special attention to issues such as cross-contamination in the kitchens. The process of ingredient-identification, however, will get a lot easier and streamlined with the implementation of these table-top devices.

Food Allergies: Food Allergies -What's a QR code got to do with it...

2013-06-26T15:12:00.001-07:00

Food Allergies: Food Allergies -What's a QR code got to do with it...: Food Allergies -What's a QR code got to do with it? The strange looking squares that have recently been appearing everywhere fro...

Allergen Tables – an Outdated & Expensive Way of Presenting Important Info

2013-06-26T15:10:00.001-07:00

Allergen Tables – an Outdated & Expensive Way of Presenting Important Info

2012-11-06T09:32:00.000-08:00

PROPOSITION 37: THE RIGHT TO KNOW

By Anchal Ahuja

Growing up, most kids rely on their parents to provide them with nutritious and balanced meals. This was certainly the case for me- I never had to think twice about what I was eating, because I was assured that my parents would only bring safe, healthy food into our home. The thought never crossed my mind that I could be eating something potentially dangerous, or maybe have ingredients I wouldn’t expect. However, I am now well into my first semester of college at the University of Colorado at Boulder, which has brought numerous changes for me, including my eating habits. I have been handed over the responsibility to make my own healthy eating choices, which can be quite a struggle for college students like me with limited options.

Fortunately, my school offers a large variety of cuisines to choose from every day, and I have grown accustomed to the plethora of food I can select from for every meal. I began to wonder how so much food could be provided to our large student body consisting of over 30,000 students every single day, let alone the entire country. Mass produced food is unavoidable in today’s world, but has never seemed to be a real threat to our communities. The question is, is that because mass produced food really is safe, or because we don’t know enough about the food we consume on a daily basis?

This is a much more pressing question for residents of California, who have been given the opportunity to potentially change the direction of America’s food industry for good. Proposition 37 is an initiative on the California 2012 election ballot that would require all genetically modified food that is produced to be labeled, and would also ban labeling processed food as ‘natural’. This proposal may just be another “food movement” attempt to those in the state, but if the law passes, the results could be extremely beneficial and quickly spread through the entire country, permanently changing the food industry we know today. California is roughly 12% of our nation’s population, and its dominating influence over America’s agriculture business can easily challenge the current system.

Most mass produced food is genetically modified- it wouldn’t be available in abundance if it wasn’t. Almost everything we consume on a daily basis has been altered in some way, and cannot be called completely natural. Soy, sugar, and corn itself are present in most foods, and 88% or higher of each of those items available in our country are genetically modified. Advancements in technology and science from the early 1900’s have enabled our agricultural industry to flourish, by injecting different types of hormones into our crops to help them grow triple in size, and resist pests and drought. Even more recently, scientists found a way to inject organism DNA into certain crops in order to give the fruit or vegetable the gene of survival in harsh weather conditions. The most famous example remains the fish and strawberry story, where scientists would inject the DNA of a fish who was well adjusted to cold-climate waters into a strawberry plant, thus making the strawberries resistant to harsh frost in the wintertime. This raises several questions regarding unexplained food allergies, health risks, and the untold side of the food industry. What are we really eating, and how come our society is still kept in the dark about what is in our food?

Though mass production and GMO’s have made food production cheaper, faster, and more efficient, it poses a problem for many college students just like me who seek healthier food options. CU Boulder freshman Seerie Clark also finds that her personal dietary needs are not being met through the large scale food industry. “Health value is much more important to me than taste value, so I always look for foods with a lot of nutrient variety. Unfortunately, my options are limited,” she says. Clark claims that if almost everything she is consuming has been genetically modified, it is impossible to differentiate the healthy choices from the not so healthy choices.

Proposition 37 would eliminate the time we students spend trying to figure out what to eat every day. With so many choices offered, but none of them guaranteed to be GMO free, we are forced to take risks every time we sit down for a meal. The food we eat may of course have nutritional value, but could be injected with various hormones and DNA we are not aware of, which raises the concerns of food allergies, as well. Say a person who is severely allergic to fish sits down with a bowl of fresh strawberries, and is suddenly struck with a terrible allergic reaction that could potentially be fatal. Their doctor would claim that they have developed an allergy to strawberries, when in reality, it is the lack of awareness that had almost cost them their life.

The CU Boulder Coordinator for Sustainable Dining, Lauren Heising, conducted a survey of 80 random students on campus, and found out that 57 of those people deemed freshness and nutritional value to be the most important factor when choosing what to eat at the dining halls, proving that a large majority of the student body, and possibly students and families all across the nation, truly do care about the health value of their food. “We are trying to increase our local, organic, and sustainable food products here at CU, such as potatoes, apples, pears, and cabbage,” Heising says, “but you can’t make a loaf of bread with one hundred percent Colorado wheat.” She pointed out that there is no concrete definition of ‘local’ in the food industry, and that there are unclear boundaries when it comes to the agriculture business in different states. For example, if chickens are born and bred in a local Colorado farm, but they are sent to a farm in California to be processed and distributed, does that still make the chicken a local product? Although these blurry lines aren’t clear, the answer to get them is, and Mrs. Heising certainly agrees. “I hope that Proposition 37 gets approved. It would be great to have [GMO’S] labeled for the benefit of our society.”

There is a lot of support for this proposition to pass, but there is always someone who opposes, too. Large food distributing businesses are contributing a lot of money to rally up more voters to say ‘no’ to this initiative, while local and organic farming communities in California continue to back the proposition with support from organic based companies and California health groups. The supporters’ slogan, “The Right To Know”, explains it all; Americans have the right to know what they are consuming on a daily basis, and requiring labeling of genetically modified food will only help our society start the food movement towards healthier lifestyles.

I would like to thank Lauren Heising and Seerie Clark for letting me interview them and credit them in this article. All the information I have stated comes from the websites I have linked in the article. Thank you to Gipsee.com for letting me publish my opinions.

2012-04-30T07:20:00.005-07:00

Food Allergies -What's a QR code got to do with it?

The strange looking squares that have recently been appearing everywhere from ketchup bottles to presidential campaign buses now have a new role in the field of food allergies. Aurora, Colorado based Gipsee, Inc., in cooperation with the Denver-based restaurant chain, MADgreens, have introduced an innovative way of utilizing QR code technology to make it easier for people with food allergies and dietary restrictions to eat at all Colorado MADgreens locations.

Here is how it works: Customers with food allergies and/or dietary preferences (such as vegans and vegetarians), simply scan strategically placed QR codes at MADgreens locations using their smart-phones. The scan takes the customer directly to a menu screen asking the customer to select foods or ingredients they wish to avoid in their meals. Given the customer's unique combinations of food restrictions, the smart-phone instantly displays menu items from the MADgreens menu that are safe for consumption. The list of undesired ingredients is not limited to the commonly designated eight or nine major allergy groupings; rather, there are hundreds of ingredient choices allowing for any user to select ingredient combinations that are as unique as they are.

"The practical part of utilizing QR codes in this mode is that customers have access to relevant information in the palm of their hands, at the time of ordering," says Atul Ahuja, one of the co-founders of Gipsee. "Most restaurants that present food allergy or ingredient information, do so on their websites, which are inaccessible to a customer when he/she is in the restaurant, is hungry and, in the case of QSR establishments, is typically short on time", adds Ahuja. "With the QR codes, there is no need to download any apps, and any customer with any smart-phone can instantly view safe menu choices, order agreeable meals and get going with their busy schedules."

MADgreens has the QR code display labels placed at the entrance of each location as well as inside the restaurant for reliable visibility and accessibility.

"Gipsee is merely leveraging its already developed food allergy analysis technology to allow customers with food allergies and dietary restrictions to eat more freely at restaurants," says Dilip Chopra, Gipsee's other co-founder, "there are about 25 million people in the US alone, including vegetarians, vegans, or those with food allergies, who have to be very particular about what they eat. Restaurants have a huge market that they can cater to, and the QR codes add a whole new dimension to providing relevant information where and when it is needed to help those who struggle with dining out, to make safe ordering decisions."

Gipsee is the industry leader in providing technologies that help restaurants, K-12 schools and the hospitality industries to generate interactive, customized menus. Gipsee technologies have won awards and national recognition including being selected as the finalist in the Food Safety category by the National Restaurant Association for the 2012 Operator Innovations Award for Gipsee's K-12 school Food Allergy Management system called AllerSchool. Recently, Gipsee was recognized in FastCasuals Magazine's

" 2012 Top 100 Movers and Shakers" for the Restaurant industry, and "100 Biggest Stories of 2011" in the Restaurant Industry by QSR magazine.

Improving the Food Allergy World...

2012-04-26T08:05:00.000-07:00

Interesting write-up about the AllerSchool System for K12 school districts:

http://foodallergytherapist.com/improving-the-food-allergy-world-one-school-district-and-one-app-at-a-time/

2011-11-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

School Menus they way they ought to be: http://gipsee.com/schools/d11/
Colorado Springs School District 11- Leading the way on serving kids with food allergies

Food Allergies- Why Restaurants should disclose ingredient information- By Priya Chopra

2011-10-13T17:31:00.000-07:00

The average American person eats outside of the house three times a week. American restaurants, including fast food and full-service restaurants generate profits of roughly 558 billion dollars each year. And as of 2010, the job of “food preparation worker,” more commonly known as a waiter, is one of the careers most in demand in the country (Trends and Forecasts). Today, the United Sates is the heart of the world’s restaurant industry. Eating out at restaurants is embedded into the American culture, and this trend is strikingly visible in virtually any public place in any American city. People all over the world are accustomed to the routine of entering a restaurant, being directed to a table, closely examining menus, conversing with waiters, ordering a meal of choice, and, more often than not, enjoying it. For most people, this process is simple; it’s a given. But, for some people, it’s not as simple. For some people, like me for instance, it is necessary to know exactly what is in the food. These people have food allergies. I am allergic to all food items containing dairy, egg, nut, bean, and poultry ingredients. For me, eating at a restaurant is a struggle, to say the least. I have to know what goes into everything that I eat to avoid a reaction. Allergic reactions can range from a mild stomach upset to anaphylactic shock, the most severe type of reaction that causes blood pressure to drop and difficulty in breathing. In extreme situations, allergic reactions are fatal (Types of Allergic Reactions).

On my 10th birthday, I visited a local family restaurant chain, and, despite my parents’ warnings to the wait staff, I was served a meal in which my steak dinner was battered in egg protein. Within minutes, I was sent into anaphylactic shock and taken to the emergency room. It was not exactly how I had pictured my 10th birthday. This is a serious issue that affects a large portion of the population but is something that is overlooked and misunderstood by the general population. In an effort to combat this growing issue, on January 4th, 2011, President Obama signed the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act (FAAMA), a piece of legislation that will result in the creation of national food allergy management guidelines for schools. After five years of pending in the U.S. Congress, this act was primarily created to bring awareness to the severity of food allergies (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act Becomes Law). FAAMA, while one step closer in supporting this cause, is still insufficient in completely eradicating the fatal potential that this issue has. Food allergies are a growing concern that affect a large portion of the population of the United States, and unfortunately, there is currently no cure (About Food Allergy). For this reason, rules like FAAMA ought to be instilled and expanded to eradicate the severity of the consequences associated with food allergies in public places.

Over 12 million people just in the United States have at least one life-threatening food allergy (Healthy Youth). Food allergies occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks a food protein, triggering the sudden release of chemicals like histamine, resulting in symptoms of an allergic reaction. The symptoms can be very mild or very severe ranging from rashes, hives, and itching to wheezing, trouble with breathing, and loss of consciousness, and potentially fatal (Types of Allergic Reactions). Robert Pacenza, the Executive Director of the Food Allergy Initiative, a nonprofit fundraising organization for allergy research, stated in a recent speech to elected officials in New York, "If a food-allergic child accidentally ingests even a miniscule trace of the wrong food, it can trigger a reaction that can kill within minutes,” An accident in a restaurant kitchen, a school cafeteria, or manufacturing factory could cross-contaminate food, even the slightest bit, and immediately lead to death (Pacenza). Food allergy reactions are the leading cause of anaphylaxis and are responsible for an estimated 150 deaths and 50,000 emergency room visits each year (Healthy Youth). More than any other group of the population, children have the highest risk rate of fatal allergies, as many people are known to grow out of their allergies with age. Millions of children suffer severe allergies, and, understandably, being the age group least capable of caring for themselves, have the most severe reactions. Out of the 12 million Americans that have at least one food allergy, three million are children, under the age of 18, who have two or more food allergies (About Food Allergy). A recent study by the American Academy of Allergies and Asthma indicated that hospitalizations resulting in food allergy diagnoses for children have also increased at a steady rate of eight percent between 1997 to now. Additionally, the number of people with food allergies in the US is increasing steadily. From 1995 to now, the incidence of reported food allergies among children under eighteen years of age has increased eighteen percent (Healthy Youth). To put that in to perspective, that is millions of people who put their lives at risk constantly, just by eating outside of their own house. Disregarding such an impactful issue has the power to kill. And, sadly, before FAAMA, nearly no action was taken to stop it.

Recognizing that food allergies are a growing public health concern, President Obama’s instigation of FAAMA, if anything, is bringing attention to this deserved issue. FAAMA was designed to help schools provide quicker responses to food allergy emergencies and will help teachers better respond to students with severe food allergies. Schools, particularly at the elementary level, will be encouraged to tighten their rules in their school cafeterias, and faculty and staff are encouraged to educate themselves about the importance food allergy care (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act Becomes Law). A setback with the legislation, however, appears with its inclusion of so-called “voluntary” procedures. The bill calls for “voluntary allergy management guidelines for schools across the United States”; schools are not obligated to incorporate FAAMA’s guidelines, only encouraged. FAAMA has been making its way into several states in the past few years. For example, on May 14, 2009, former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed the “Colorado School Children’s Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act.” This act, virtually identical to the FAAMA legislation signed in January, unfortunately has not made any significant progress at Colorado schools in the last few years, possibly because of the open-ended, optional guidelines (Senator Colorado Governor Ritter Signs Bill to Help Kids with Food Allergies). Chris Dodd, upon the signing of the bill in January, said “All of our nation's children deserve a safe and healthy learning environment. The bill being signed into law today is an important step toward providing relief for the children and families of those who struggle daily with food allergies. As a parent of a child who suffers from severe food allergies, I know firsthand the distress this can cause young children and their families.” As the number of children with food allergies continues to rise, FAAMA will establish guidelines for the management of food allergies in schools - protecting the well-being of millions of children with life-threatening allergies (About Food Allergy). At most, FAAMA is currently making an impact solely by creating awareness, which, while still important, is not sufficient.

FAAMA is too constricted as it is limited only to schools. People with food allergies should be able to eat safely in other public places as well. The first restaurant in the United States was opened in 1794 (Trends and Forecasts). Since then, over two hundred years later, there still has been no significant effort to include such a large portion of the population that does not fit in to the current restaurant clientele. Robert Ambrogi, a lawyer and active blogger, told a story via his blog on January 1, 2009, about an unlabeled cookie at a restaurant that nearly killed his teenage son. The waiter at this particular restaurant specifically told Ambrogi the cookie was peanut-free. But, only one bite of this cookie sent his son into an anaphylactic shock and required him to be taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital (Ambrogi). Similarly, on March 18, 2011, a Chicago family whose daughter Katelyn died last year after having an allergic reaction to peanuts at a school party filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Chinese restaurant that provided the meal, claiming the student's teacher told the restaurant to avoid peanut products but was ignored (Hood). The stories are endless. Like my allergic reaction, these reactions resulted solely from the lack of knowledge about food allergies. When the people serving food are unaware of its contents, there are dire consequences. Out of all 50 states in the country, Massachusetts has emerged as the only leader in food allergy awareness outside of just schools, covered in FAAMA. In February of 2010, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed a law for restaurants, one that is not voluntary but mandatory. The law requires all Massachusetts restaurants to one, display a food allergy awareness poster in the staff area that lists common allergies and protocol for serving food to a customer with a known allergy, two, post a notice on menus that reads, "Before placing your order please inform your server if a person in your party has a food allergy," and three, train all restaurant staffers in food allergen safety. In addition, the restaurant manager must watch a training video developed by the National Restaurant Association and must renew the restaurant’s certification every five years (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act Becomes Law). It is rules like this that make the difference and could have the power to not ruin my birthday, avoid Ambrogi’s son’s reaction, and save the Chicago teenager and the few hundred allergic people who lose their lives each year.

With not much effort, these life threatening reactions can easily be prevented. FAAMA is timely and may help many children with allergies in schools but similar provisions for restaurants and all public places should exist as well. I spent the remainder of my birthday and the following day in the emergency room. Fortunately I recovered relatively quickly, as compared to most allergic people. For others with similar severe food allergies, good luck like mine on this instance is rare. I almost lost my life that day because of the lack of understanding and/or carelessness of the restaurant. Allergies are a serious issue. With so many people suffering, there needs to be a protection around it. Restaurants, school cafeterias, and all public places overlook the growing issue food allergies and fail to understand its consequences. FAAMA is aimed to conquer this issue but must also be accompanied by legislation encompassing restaurants and all public eating places to ensure that any person, regardless of their eating needs or restrictions, can safely eat. Situations similar to mine on my 10th birthday should be viewed as learning experiences. No person should be put in such a situation due to the lack of understanding of another person.

Works Cited:

“About Food Allergy.” Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://www.foodallergy.org/section/about-food-allergy>.
Ambrogi, Robert. “Peanut Allergies and the Law.” LawSites. 23 Feb. 2007. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://www.lawsitesblog.com/>.
“Colorado Governor Ritter Signs Bill To Help Kids With Food Allergies.” Allergy Sense. 25 May 2009. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://www.allergysense.com/>.
“Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act Becomes Law.” Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Clinic. 5 Jan. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://www.atlantaallergy.com/>.
“Healthy Youth.” National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. 31 Jan. 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/foodallergies/>.
Hood, Joel. “Family sues restaurant over seventh-grader’s fatal food allergy.” Chicago Tribune. 18 Mar. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/>.
Pacenza, Robert. “Everyone’s Gone Nuts.” Harper’s Magazine. Mar. 2008. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://www.harpers.org/subjects/RobertPacenza>.
“Trends and Forecasts.” National Restaurant Association. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://www.restaurant.org/>.
“Types of Allergic Reactions.” Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://www.foodallergy.org/section/types-of-allergic-reactions>.

Denver-based MAD Greens First to Launch Interactive Food-Allergy App

2011-07-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

Denver-based MAD Greens First to Launch Interactive Food-Allergy App

Restaurant group adds interactive food allergy analysis tool for additional menu transparency

(Denver - July 18, 2011) Today, Denver-based MAD Greens, long known for its wide range of fresh salads, soups, wraps and panini, rolled out another innovation that allows customers to make healthy-for-them menu choices. Through a partnership with Aurora-based Gipsee, Inc., the restaurant now offers customers with food allergies a way to interactively explore their eating options at any of Mad Greens’ 11 locations along the Front Range. Available on www.madgreens.com or through a MADgreens free mobile web-app compatible with most smartphones, the system allows customers to select foods and ingredients that they may be allergic to or wish to avoid for various health reasons. Based on the customers unique set of selections, the system instantly produces a customized list of menu choices categorized as: menu items suitable for eating; menu items that can be eaten with modifications; and menu items that should be avoided. Customers can use the online tool before heading to MAD Greens or use the free web-app while at the restaurant.
“Our concept is based on the idea of a transparent and healthy menu,” said Marley Hodgson, CEO and founder of MAD Greens. “The Gipsee application allows the growing number of Coloradoans with food allergies to make the right choice for their health.”
Gipsee was launched in 2010 by Dilip Chopra and Atul Ahuja when the two men recognized an opportunity to use technology to help food allergy sufferers.
“Most restaurants present allergy information in a static table format on their websites categorized only by the most common eight allergen groups " said Chopra. ”But food allergies do not always fall into clear-cut categories or common groups. Gipsee's solution does an analysis based on each and every ingredient in a menu item and produces instant customized menus based on food allergies and consumer preferences such as Gluten-free, Vegan and Vegetarian.” Gipsee’s Interactive Allergy Analyzer, joins a number of innovative nutritional tools MAD Greens provides its customers. In March 2011, the restaurant group posted nutritional information on its in-store printed menus and menu boards, and its website features an interactive nutritional calculator. With a quick glance, customers can view all the essentials of their lunch or dinner choice, and make menu decisions accordingly. Unique to MAD Greens nutritional calculator is the “Meal Total” feature, which
calculates nutritional values for an entire meal, including all side items such as chips or a drink. “We’ve already had very positive response to Gipsee's Interactive Allergy Analyzer,” said Hodgson. “Our customers appreciate the easy-to-use tool, and are thankful that we offer so many choices for any diet.” About MAD Greens Known for healthy food with a big dose of fun, MAD Greens serves up “Inspired Eats,” high quality ingredients served fresh in interesting combinations. Salads, soups, wraps and panini sandwiches fill out the lunch and dinner menu. MAD Greens currently has 11 inspired eateries in Denver, Boulder, Longmont and Fort Collins. Named Best Healthy Lunch in Denver for 2007, 2008 and 2009 by CBS Channel 7's "A-list,” “Top 100 Movers & Shakers” by Fast Casual.com in 2008, 2009, 2010 and “Emerging Business of the Year” by the Denver Metro Chamber, the eatery is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. For more information and restaurant locations please visit www.madgreens.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MADgreens.
About Gipsee
Gipsee, Inc specializes in innovating allergy-friendly technology solutions for eating out. Gipsee's patent-pending products include solutions for restaurant, schools and the hospitality industry as well as mobile apps for consumers with food allergies. For more information please visit www.gipsee.com, www.allerschool.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GipseeAllergenFreeEating.

Popular Colorado Restaurant Chain to use Gipsee's Technology to produce Allergen-Free Menu Options

2011-05-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

Restaurant Chain to be Industry's first to introduce Interactive Menu Choices for customers with food Allergies.

Aurora, Colorado (May 6, 2011)

Gipsee, Inc., based in Aurora, Colorado today announced an agreement with a popular Colorado restaurant chain to make customized allergen-free menu options available to its customers with food allergies.

By utilizing Gipsee's unique patent-pending technology, the restaurant chain will allow its customers to view menu choices that fit their specific food allergy requirements.

The interactive feature will be made available on the restaurants web site as well as the chain's proprietary mobile platform in addition to Gipsee's own mobile device (gipseeinmypocket.com). Details on providing an in-house 'on the premises' capability are also being worked out pending the roll-out of the above platforms.

More details to be announced in the coming weeks.

For more information, please contact Gipsee at: info@gipsee.com

Colorado Schools select Gipsee's AllerSchool Technology to help with Allergen-Free Menu Planning

2011-04-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

Aurora, Colorado (April 23, 2011)

Gipsee, Inc. (www.gipsee.com), today formally announced an agreement to provide over 62 Colorado schools with technology to help in the planning and selection of menu items that accommodate the various needs of students with food allergies.

Gipsee designed a unique patent-pending software application for K-12 schools named AllerSchool (www.allerschool.com) that helps school menu planners and food service directors to make the process of school menu offerings more efficient.

Allerschool automates the process of detecting food allergens in menu items thereby saving time and money in administrative costs while improving menu ingredient transparency.

With the increase in the number of students with food allergies in schools and the passage of FAAMA( Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act, January 2011) , schools are now encouraged by Federal mandate to have policies in place for the management of food allergies in schools.

The Allerschool system is designed to provide a comprehensive approach to the issue of food allergies by making parental involvement an integral part of the solution. "Food allergies cannot be taken lightly" says Gipsee co-founder Dilip Chopra "They can be life-threatening in some cases, if not managed properly. It is imperative that parents be involved in the process of making decisions regarding which food items may be safe for consumption for their children."

The AllerSchool system provides tools for parents via a 'parent website' feature to enable them to make safe meal selections for their children and, electronically send advance meal orders to school cafeterias. The parents are able to interactively choose meal items for their kids after analyzing the meal choices based on their child's unique set of food allergies.

Currently, most school districts publish lunch and breakfast menus one or two months in advance and post them on their websites. Such postings are mainly for the purpose of providing advance information about menu items being served. Parents of students with food allergies often cannot make informed decisions based on such menu postings since they do not generally reveal the food ingredients of the menu items.

Food service directors and menu planners of school districts, face the difficult task of providing menu choices accommodating the varying food allergy restrictions of hundreds of students for each school day.

"It's a difficult matrix to solve" says Atul Ahuja, Gipsee's other co-founder and technology chief "You have hundreds of students, each with a different set of food allergies who have to be reasonably accommodated with a fair amount of menu choices each day. Add to that the complexity of hundreds of ingredients used in various products each with their own unique allergenic properties. AllerSchool's unique algorithm automates the process of identifying available meal choices to serve the needs of all students including those with food allergies." He adds, "School meals are an important part of the school day for students- it provides an important social and learning opportunity for them and therefore it is important that safe food choices be available to all students, including those with food allergies and dietary restrictions."

The AllerSchool system is slated to be deployed for the 62 schools in Fall 2011, at the start of the upcoming school year.

For more information, please contact AllerSchool at: info@gipsee.com

Gipsee Introduces Interactive Food Allergy Analysis tool for Restaurant Websites

2011-02-07T09:41:00.000-08:00

Aurora, Colorado (February 7, 2011)

Gipsee, Inc. (www.gipsee.com), today announced the availability of a new feature for restaurant websites that allows restaurant customers with food allergies to interactively explore their eating options.

Currently, most large restaurant chains post food allergy information on their websites for the benefit of their customers. Some chains post detailed ingredient information on their menu items while others post information that is analyzed according to the nine major allergen categories (as defined by the FDA). Customers with food allergies that wish to dine at these restaurants can visit the restaurant's website and browse through the posted information to find items may be safe for their consumption, based on their individualized food allergy restrictions or dietary preferences. Most restaurant websites display this information in downloadable pdf formats. Some of the listings can be up to 40 pages long.

With Gipsee's new interactive system, called the AllerConnect System, a restaurant is provided with a web-link to be placed on their website. Upon clicking the AllerConnect link, the restaurant's customers are prompted to enter their individualized food allergies or restrictions. The system then presents the customer with information on menu items that may be safe for consumption, safe for consumption with allowed modifications, or not safe for consumption.

Depending on the restaurant, a customer can select from hundreds of choices of potential allergens or food-preferences to produce a customized menu listing.

"Given the combination and complexity with which most food allergies present themselves, it is not an easy task for a person with food allergies to figure out items that they can eat," says Dilip Chopra, co-founder of Gipsee. "People are looking for information that is relevant without having to browse through a multitude of pages with static information. This is especially important when they are about to make a decision about eating."

"Gipsee introduces an interactive element to the process of obtaining applicable information," says Atul Ahuja, also a Gipsee co-founder. "The allergen information presented by restaurants on their websites is definitely not 'one size fits all'. It needs to be extracted to fit unique individual needs. Gipsee automates this extraction process."

Ahuja cites an example of the recently released allergen listing by a popular restaurant chain, The Cheesecake Factory. "It is a well prepared allergen document that is approximately twenty-two pages long with very good information. By entering allergy preferences of milk, eggs, almonds, and certain beans, the Gipsee AllerConnect system produced a listing of five pages of menu options that are applicable. The system reduces the frustration of manually going through each item listed to see if it is safe for consumption."

Restaurants that decide to subscribe to Gipsee's AllerConnect system for their websites can also choose to have the system installed on their physical premises to accommodate similar needs of customers while inside the restaurant premises.

Restaurants that subscribe to the AllerConnect system would also be able to list their restaurant menus on Gipsee's soon to be launched location based mobile app

For more information, please contact Gipsee at: info@gipsee.com

Gipsee Introduces Interactive website for people with Food Allergies and Restaurants

2010-12-10T08:18:00.000-08:00

Gipsee, Inc. (www.gipsee.com), based in Aurora, Colorado, today unveiled a new website with interactive capabilities featuring a sampling of some of the most popular Restaurants in the United States.

The new website's 'interactive' features allow restaurants and individuals with food allergies to log in and 'test-drive' Gipsee's newly introduced systems. A consumer, after signing up with Gipsee, can create an allergy profile consisting of any combination of ingredients or, allergy categories and then search for available menu options from listed restaurants. Upon entering their unique food allergy restrictions, Gipsee's system produces a Customized Menu of items that may be fit for consumption; may be fit for consumption with substitutions; or not fit for consumption. Customers may also view detailed ingredient listings for menu items interactively.

Registration is free of charge

"It expands the available choices for consumers", says Gipsee co-founder Dilip Chopra. "Most people with food allergies tend to stay with a limited number of 'tried-and-tested' menu options at restaurants because of a sheer lack of information about the ingredients of other available menu items". Gipsee's technology analyzes every ingredient in a menu item to determine if it is safe for consumption given any combination of a customer's unique food restrictions.

Gipsee also introduced an interactive tool for restaurants called the 'Menu Analyzer' which helps restaurants in a similar fashion. The restaurant staff simply enters a customer's food allergy restrictions into the Menu Analyzer which instantaneously produces a customized listing of menu items suitable for the customer's consumption. "It can greatly reduce the liability risks involved for restaurants" says Atul Ahuja, Gipsee's technology architect and co-founder. Ahuja elaborates "Wait-staff at most restaurants are not necessarily as knowledgeable about food allergies as they should be, and may inadvertently recommend the wrong menu item to a customer resulting in a potential for a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction. Gipsee eliminates the guesswork!"
Restaurants may register on Gipsee's website for free and request a 'Trial Code' in order to try out the Menu Analyzer.

For more information, please contact Gipsee at: info@gipsee.com

Gipsee Introduces Technology for Restaurants to Analyze their own Menus and Produce Allergen-friendly Customized Menus

2010-10-31T13:12:00.000-07:00

Contact: info@gipsee.com

Aurora, Colorado (October 25, 2010)-

Gipsee, Inc. (http://www.gipsee.com/), based in Aurora, Colorado, today unveiled a practical solution for restaurants that enables them to instantaneously and interactively produce customized menu choices for their customers with various food allergies.

Today, restaurants rely mainly on ingredient listings posted on their websites to suggest food items that may be safe for customers with food allergies.

"Some of these ingredient lists can run 30 to 40 pages of fine print," said Gipsee co-founder Dilip Chopra. "It is totally impractical to expect anyone to go through such a long list and figure out what is safe to eat in a restaurant setting. Additionally, the ingredient listings are generally presented by sorting menu items according to the nine major allergen categories as defined by the FDA. A dairy-free menu offered by a restaurant may mean nothing for a person with allergies to dairy and chicken, as an example. A menu option that otherwise may be dairy-free, but has chicken-broth as an ingredient could be risky to consume for such a person. Food allergies do not manifest themselves in clear-cut categories defined by the FDA. A solution, therefore, was needed to do an instant analysis with consideration given to all ingredients present in a menu item."

"Gipsee is the answer," said Atul Ahuja, the other co-founder and the technology brains behind the system. It took Ahuja, together with Chopra and their technology staff, over 18 months to carefully research and map each of the tens of thousands of food ingredients in Gipsee's databases to their potential allergenic properties. "It is this massive database of complex relationships that makes the technology work to provide practical solutions for both the customer and the restaurant," said Ahuja.

Gipsee's technology, aptly referred to as the Menu Analyzer, produces instant menu choices based on any combinations of allergies or ingredients that a customer may wish to avoid. Using Gipsee's Menu Analyzer, the wait-staff at a restaurant would be able to simply ask a customer with food allergies about ingredients or allergens they wish to avoid. They would then enter the information into the Menu Analyzer system to instantly produce a customized menu with choices that meet the customers allergy restrictions or preferences.

Gipsee's technology is also available for restaurants to implement on their websites, allowing customers to obtain the same customized menu results, instead of having to browse through numerous pages of ingredient information.

Gipsee plans to make the same analysis available on a location-based mobile system in the near future. "Imagine being in a new place with multiple food allergies," said Ahuja. "The mobile version could be a life-saver with its location-based content intelligence. It could not only locate eating places in your vicinity but, more importantly, locate eating places where you can actually eat, given your allergy restrictions or preferences. It would be an invaluable tool to have while traveling ." Gipsee plans to include a 'Review' feature on this system that would allow customers to rate restaurants based on allergy-specific criteria.

Gipsee's location-based Suggestive Technology with Content-Intelligence has been assigned a patent-pending status by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.

For more information, please contact Gipsee at: info@gipsee.com

Nation's Restaurant News

2010-10-27T19:44:00.000-07:00

Massachusetts unveils food allergy rules

Nation's Restaurant News

2010-10-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

Keep customers, business healthy by taking care of allergy sufferers

Read more: http://old.nrn.com/article.aspx?id=372372#ixzz13y7t0pu4