An Irish startup created a device that can figure out what foods give you bad gas

There’s nothing worse than passing gas in a crowded room and having to coordinate a game plan. Do you own up to it? Do you stare into the distance, willing yourself to ignore the scrunched noses of friends and colleagues? Or do you simply curse your digestive system, which tends to betray you at all the wrong times?

FoodMarble, an Irish startup, might be able to help. Its new device, Aire, can’t quell your gastronomic woes, but it can help detect what causes them. Using a combination of gas, temperature, and humidity sensors, the breathalyzer-like device can capture “the presence of gas related to fermented foods—or those that aren’t digesting well in your large intestine—on your breath,” according to VentureBeat. “Then it gives you a score of 1 to 100, rating your digestive comfort at the moment.”

“Some people have symptoms that impact daily life, like irritable bowel syndrome,” says FoodMarble CEO Aonghus Shortt. “They are intolerant of certain foods, but may not know which ones. We want to make this measurable.”

Anyone who’s struggled with gastrointestinal issues knows how hard it is to figure out what exactly is making such a stink. Using the Aire, FoodMarble believes users can adopt a “process of elimination” method after eating certain foods to see whether it’s causing an issue. Hey, it beats going to the gastroenterologist.

You can preorder the Aire on FoodMarble’s site for $99.