{"id":306081,"date":"2026-05-08T14:49:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T14:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/306081\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T14:49:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T14:49:07","slug":"food-allergies-are-rising-a-sacramento-startup-says-it-has-a-faster-way-to-test-for-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/306081\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Allergies Are Rising. A Sacramento Startup Says It Has a Faster Way to Test for Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

This story is part of our May 2026 issue. To read the print version, click here.<\/a><\/p>\n


\n
\n <\/p>\n

\n These days, it seems like everybody has a food allergy. Not quite
\n everybody, but as of 2024, nearly 22 million people in the U.S.
\n have one or more, according to the Asthma and Allergy
\n Foundation of America<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n A sibling duo in Sacramento is focused on helping this large
\n sector of the population. With their startup, DipDetect,
\n co-founders Bhawna Sharma Goraya and Danish Sharma are developing
\n a test strip to check for food allergens in seconds.\n<\/p>\n

\n DipDetect was recognized as a Top 8 startup in the 2026
\n Capitalize: Next Gen competition, hosted by the Sacramento Kings.
\n The strip works like a pH test strip with color-coded zones, each
\n monitoring one of six allergens: dairy, nuts, gluten, shellfish,
\n whey and oat. When exposed to a sample, the strip changes color
\n to show which allergens are present, giving users a quick DIY
\n safety check. The team is starting with beverages, with plans to
\n expand into foods once they secure more funding and lab support.\n<\/p>\n

\n There is competition in this market, but the co-founders say
\n other devices are more expensive, too bulky or slow. As food
\n allergies rise globally, the duo believes their compact device
\n could reduce stress when eating out or traveling, helping people
\n avoid missing out on experiences \u2014 or, worse, being rushed to the
\n hospital.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n With Danish Sharma having had a nut allergy since he was a kid,
\n he knows that reality all too well. He usually has EpiPens with
\n him, but sometimes he forgets them. This happened at a comedy
\n show in San Francisco when he took a bite from a Thai dish, and
\n 10 minutes later, his face started puffing up. That uncertainty
\n is stressful when going out to eat.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cFor example, I was out at a restaurant earlier this week,\u201d he
\n says, \u201cand I\u2019m making my order, and I\u2019m like, \u2018Hey, I know it\u2019s a
\n chicken sandwich and everything, but I just want to double check
\n there\u2019s no nuts in it whatsoever.\u2019 And I got a very unsure
\n response from them. Later, I did find out it had nuts in it. But
\n I have so much anxiety when I\u2019m going out to eat and I\u2019m simply
\n just getting a chicken sandwich.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n In 2024, Bhawna graduated with a master\u2019s in public health from
\n Johns Hopkins. Danish is a current undergraduate student at
\n Sacramento State. Cheng Wang, assistant professor in the
\n Department of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Sacramento State
\n University, says Danish demonstrates \u201cstrong critical thinking
\n skills\u201d and contributes well-considered insights during class
\n discussions.\n<\/p>\n

\n Wang also shared insights on DipDetect from the judging committee
\n \u2014 composed of faculty members from the same department \u2014 that
\n served at the Annual College of Business Pitch Competition in
\n fall 2025.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe DipDetect proposal won first place out of more than 25
\n teams,\u201d Wang says. \u201cThe committee was impressed with their
\n carefully designed business model, as well as their meaningful
\n contribution to creating a more supportive and health-conscious
\n environment.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n The committee also noted that DipDetect\u2019s business model, which
\n highlights direct-to-consumer services and partnerships with
\n universities to support students, stood out in the initial
\n screening and the final presentation. The co-founders also
\n brought samples of commercially available test strips to
\n demonstrate their business concept, making the presentation both
\n effective and engaging, Wang adds.\n<\/p>\n

\n DipDetect was also recognized as a Top 8 startup in the 2026
\n Kings Capitalize competition. According to the co-founders,
\n DipDetect\u2019s potential goes beyond supporting people with
\n allergies. In fact, many people that have shown interest don\u2019t
\n have allergies, but consider themselves \u201chealth conscious.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThey want to know what\u2019s in their drinks, what\u2019s in their food,
\n or maybe they\u2019re just trying to live a specific lifestyle,\u201d
\n Bhawna says. \u201cAnd this would help them achieve that. Parents and
\n schools have been really interested in this, just so they don\u2019t
\n have scares. Airlines also seem to be interested in this because
\n right now, the only prevention they have is for you to mark it on
\n your ticket.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n \u2013\n<\/p>\n

\n Stay up to date on business in the Capital Region:
\n Subscribe to the Comstock\u2019s newsletter
\n today.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story is part of our May 2026 issue. To read the print version, click here. …\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-306081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}