Taking personalised pizza to the next level

Nestlé has a vision for the next evolution of food.

The genome sequencing has kept getting faster and cheaper. 10 years ago it took a few months and a million $, today you can have your genome sequenced for 399$ in a week and price keeps going down. It will likely be below 100$ by 2020. Besides, if what you need is sequencing just a piece of your genome the cost may compare to a normal blood test.

Hence it is not surprising that genome sequencing is being exploited in several areas, including … personalising pizza!

Nestle Japan has started a project involving 100,000 people that are given a DNA kit to have their genome (partially) sequenced. The plan is to use that information to design  a better  diet with the aim of improving health and prolonging life. Japan is already the nation with the highest life expectancy, 83.7 years,

People participating in the trial are encouraged to use an app, developed for this trial, to upload photos of what they are eating and Nestle will provide advice based on their specific genome, advise that can be as specific as suggesting the right toppings for the pizza!

I think this is an example on how much technology can permeate every day, including aspects that one would have considered alien to technology intrusion. The fact is that the digital transformation is blowing across all paths of life and it will eventually change habits.

Today uploading a photo requires a specific action, but think about tomorrow when your very dresses can detect what you are doing and pick up photos of what’s around you and what you are doing. Everything may happen below our level of perception. One might consider this as ugly, intrusive. Or, one might come to take this for granted, as we take wireless infrastructures a given, and an essential part permeating our daily life.

Electronics has change our lifestyle, in the coming decades genomics and AI will have even greater effects.

About Roberto Saracco

Roberto Saracco fell in love with technology and its implications long time ago. His background is in math and computer science. Until April 2017 he led the EIT Digital Italian Node and then was head of the Industrial Doctoral School of EIT Digital up to September 2018. Previously, up to December 2011 he was the Director of the Telecom Italia Future Centre in Venice, looking at the interplay of technology evolution, economics and society. At the turn of the century he led a World Bank-Infodev project to stimulate entrepreneurship in Latin America. He is a senior member of IEEE where he leads the New Initiative Committee and co-chairs the Digital Reality Initiative. He is a member of the IEEE in 2050 Ad Hoc Committee. He teaches a Master course on Technology Forecasting and Market impact at the University of Trento. He has published over 100 papers in journals and magazines and 14 books.