As it is, a lot of people have a hard time eating right. Throw in food safety concerns and things get even more complicated. In China, Baidu does its part in helping people eat safely by inventing a pair of smart chopsticks.
It all started out as an April Fool's joke. Baidu had no intention at the time of producing the smart chopsticks but when the idea generated a lot of excitement from both inside and outside the company, the Chinese search engine company decided to rethink its decision. And just a few months later, the smart chopsticks were born.
China has serious food safety problem so it was understandable why the idea of smart chopsticks being able to determine if food is safe to eat would gain traction. Baidu's smart chopsticks, called Kuaisou in Chinese, are still under development but its most recent progress makes it capable of determining the quality of cooking oil, water, and even fruits.
Why test for cooking oil?
Cooking oil is sometimes illegally reprocessed from restaurant leftovers and other sources of waste oil and then sold back as new. Because of its source, reprocessed oil is commonly referred to as "gutter oil."
Health officials in China launched a crackdown against gutter oil, leading to over 100 people being arrested, 20 of which were imprisoned. And out of those 20, two were sentenced to life in jail for manufacturing and selling gutter oil.
With gutter oil a widespread threat in China, Baidu can help people figure out if the oil they're using has been illegally reprocessed using the smart chopsticks.
To start a test, users have to first open Baidu's corresponding app for the chopsticks. Activate the chopsticks and wait for its indicator lights to turn on. Once the chopsticks are activated, press the corresponding button on the app to start a test. To begin a reading, press the dark blue button in the middle. After a few seconds, the oil's quality level will be displayed by the app.
A reading determines the level of polar materials in the oil which is indicative of freshness. If the smart device detects more than 25% total polar materials, that means the cooking oil is not fit for consumption. Additionally, indicator lights on the chopsticks will turn red if the item being tested is deemed unsafe.
Baidu has not revealed pricing details or a release date for the Kuaisou because the company is not ready to release the product commercially.
