Imagine having a tiny, high-tech laboratory that fits in your hand. Instead of sending food samples away and waiting days for a lab report, you can scan a batch of food on the spot. It works like a digital traffic light—green means it's safe, red means there's a problem—so you know instantly if the food is contaminated.
Food producers rely on slow, expensive lab tests that take several days. This delay leads to massive food waste and financial losses when contaminants are found after processing is complete.
A Handheld Molecular Contaminant Screener (HMCS), which is a miniaturized, cloud-integrated mass spectrometer with a red/green light user interface.
If you are an industrial food processor dealing with the risk of destroying large batches of processed food due to delayed lab results—this project developed the HMCS device that allows you to screen for contaminants in real-time at the source. This prevents the waste of ingredients and money associated with late-stage detection.
If you are a crop producer dealing with pesticide or toxin contamination—this project developed a portable mass spectrometer that brings the lab to the sample. This allows for immediate assessment before products enter the distribution chain, reducing the risk of health incidents.
If you are a feed manufacturer dealing with antibiotic or toxin monitoring—this project developed a user-friendly screener that requires no sample preparation. This reduces the cost of testing compared to conventional lab-based methods.
Based on available project data, the testing cost is lower than conventional lab-based testing because it eliminates the need for sample preparation and time delays.
Yes, the project focused on manufacturing scale-up for the large-scale market and the development of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
Based on available project data, the device uses proprietary mass spectrometer (MS)-based technology owned by NG Sensors.
The project forecasted a market launch in 2023, with revenue projections extending to 2027.
The HMCS is described as a fully cloud-integrated portable device, allowing for data connectivity and traceability.
The project is led by a single SME, Next Generation Sensors BV from the Netherlands. With a 100% industry ratio, the consortium is lean and focused on commercialization rather than academic research, which is typical for EIC Accelerator projects aiming for rapid market entry.
Contact Next Generation Sensors BV in the Netherlands
Contact us to facilitate a partnership with NG Sensors for early adoption of HMCS.
