HeroX is a platform that encourages innovation as well as the development of new industries through competitions.
The What's in My Food!? Challenge is a competition to create a product that can quantify the nutritional content of any food.
Why solve this problem?
Metabolic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity are on the rise, and it costs taxpayers (you) billions of dollars each year. Studies have shown that by accurately understanding what’s in your food, you can slow, manage, or even prevent the development of such diseases. People with type 1 diabetes are also in need of a device that accurately shows the carbohydrates of any food item within their reach in order to maintain steady blood sugar levels.
What's wrong with nutritional labels? Studies have shown that nutritional labels can be inaccurate by up to 20%. Governments and regulators do not have the resources to check the accuracy of all food labels either, so how are we suppose to trust this information?
Some restaurants also post nutritional information, but it's not always easily accessible, accurate, or applicable as certain toppings may be omitted in the calculations. For home cooked meals, calculating nutritional information based on food labels can be inaccurate and time-consuming.
The purpose of this competition is to empower individuals to eat healthier while still enjoying their food by providing accurate and real-time nutritional information.
How can you help?
You can help in two ways:
1) Help build our community by "voting up" this challenge, liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and sharing with others.
2) Compete! Sign up as an innovator.
We thank everyone for their time in providing us with their feedback and comments. This has helped us refine the requirements for our challenge (see below).
We will soon be launching our competition once we determine our purse size, at which point, innovators can then start their creations. They will have a period of six months to complete their product. At the end of this allocated period, judges, which include a panel of industry experts along with IntakeX, will be selecting the winner based on the following requirements.
Challenge Requirements
We challenge innovators to invent a product (ie. a sensor, hardware, a laser beam, software, etc.) that is affordable and that can determine the amount of carbohydrates of any food item and or dish, to an accuracy within a 1% margin of error. Please note that affordability will be determined by an average customer, and the accuracy of each product will be tested by a group of type 1 diabetics whose A1C levels have been within the optimal levels for the past three years.
Why compete?
The winner of this challenge will receive a sizeable prize, a platform to quickly launch the product, media attention, and other supports.
Who are we?
IntakeX is a team of healthcare, technology and nutrition professionals that have teamed up with HeroX to help promote more informed and healthy eating.
