14-year-old Inspires Food Allergy Recall App

A Pennsylvania teen triggered the creation of a smartphone app as a collaboration between his father and a technology company. The app alerts users of active and new Food and Drug Administration food recalls for allergen contamination.

The app, called AlertMe, sends push notifications about FDA food allergy recalls to users. Alerts can be personalized by allergen type and it displays product UPC codes and photos.

A close call leads to action.

The story began when a food allergy recall hit the news and Tim Mussmon, the father of 14-year-old Owen, saw it. He realized that the bagels being recalled were on the shelf in their pantry and that his son would potentially have a life-threatening reaction to them.

The family combed through the FDA recall site to look for other items they might be harboring. It was a laborious process and Tim figured that there had to be a better way. So AlertMe was born.

The app is available for both Apple and Android devices in their respective stores.

Source: ABC27.com