TellSpec

TellSpec is a Toronto, Canada company founded in 2013 by Isabel Hoffmann, building handheld and benchtop sensors that read the chemical composition of organic materials. It set out to make food and ingredient testing accessible outside a full laboratory, so processors, distributors and inspectors can check for adulteration, mislabelling or unsafe composition before a shipment moves further down the chain.

Its Enterprise Sensor uses near-infrared spectroscopy paired with the SpecAI machine-learning platform and SpecData management tools to identify a sample’s composition in the field, with published use cases spanning seafood-fraud and counterfeit-product detection, raw milk composition checks for dairy processors, and freshness assessment in aquaculture. A dedicated Preemie Sensor variant applies the same approach to analysing human milk composition in neonatal care.

1. Enterprise Sensor: near-infrared spectroscopy device that reads the chemical composition of a sample on site.

2. SpecAI platform: machine-learning software that interprets sensor readings into composition and quality results.

3. SpecData management: tools for organising and tracking scan results across batches and locations.

4. Fraud and adulteration checks: published use cases include seafood-fraud and counterfeit-product detection.

5. Dairy and aquaculture use: checks raw milk composition for dairy processors and freshness in aquaculture products.

6. Preemie Sensor: a dedicated variant applying the same technology to human milk composition analysis in neonatal care.