Forget the sixth sense, here comes the stick sense

The human nose is a very sophisticated device. It has the power to do many things, including connecting us to a special memory through the aroma of baking bread, showing us where the nearest coffee shop is located, and from an evolutionary standpoint, protecting us from eating meat that has spent a little too much time in the fridge.

The SensorfreshQ meat and poultry tester is a handheld, battery-operated wand that tells you whether or not that uncooked piece of meat or poultry is still OK for you to put into your mouth. Perfect timing, since summer is when grilling and kebabs are at their peak.

It operates using advanced QCard technology, a sensor system that detects the bacteriological activity in your food. At the press of a button, a tiny fan in the tip of the electronic "nose" sucks air past four sensors that search for the by-products of bacteria that could potentially be found in your food. If the reading of these by-products in PPB (parts per billion) is too high, then the wand will flash a red light, sending you the alert that your steak is no longer safe. A yellow light will tell you that you should eat the food within two days, and a green light says the meat is good to go. The process takes under a minute, which is a small price to pay for a happy stomach and a healthy family.

The stick comes with two QCards, which are good up to 200 uses, and automatically tells you when it's time to switch to a new card. At just under $90, the SensorfreshQ may look like just another drop in the pricey kitchen gadget bucket, but I'm thinking that $7.50 a month is worth saving my nose the trouble and my digestive system the pain.