Food allergies affect more than 15-million Americans each year, and during the holidays, it can be very difficult to manage. As someone who suffers from a unique set of food allergies, I know first hand the concerns individuals and families have regarding safety and staying safe. It was this concern which became the energy behind the company CertiStar.
Despite the many different dining options in the Phoenix area, families with members who suffer from food allergies can feel somewhat limited in their choices. It can be uncomfortable and unsafe.. that feeling when dining out, often reduced to wondering if the ordering chain, front of the house to back of the house, will get it right. As a former software engineer often wondered if there wasn’t a better way, using technology, to simplify this process and make customers feel safer and have a better dining experience, and that is why I started CertiStar. 
Founded in August of 2017 and a GA product since April 2018, CertiStar has software to help restaurants, schools and hospitals manage the interaction with customers and patrons who suffer from food allergies. By breaking menu items down into component ingredients and then comparing them against an ad hoc list of allergens, CertiStar is able to quickly list menu items which are safe to enjoy. Accessible through a restaurant’s mobile device or POS system, this eliminates the arduous back and forth between customer and staff, which often leaves the patron with little or no feelings of safety. Certistar’s software helps individuals and families feel much safer about their dining options. Moreover, when used by schools, families and children can feel safer about the selections in the cafeteria with the knowledge that an added precautionary measure has been utilized to keep food allergy sufferers from coming into contact with a reactionary trigger. Hospitals can use CertiStar in a similar way with patients, nearly eliminating the concern that the wrong food is served to anyone with allergies.
Dining out, going to school, top notch care in hospitals…none of these services should be impacted or limited by food allergies. Today, using technology, there is a way to increase the level of safety service providers can employ when providing for people who suffer from food allergies. At CertiStar we are pleased to be leading the way to educate both providers and patrons on a solution which is easy to employ, easy to use, and makes the everyone’s experience safer and more enjoyable.
Locally here in the Valley, one of our partners includes Chompie’s, who uses our platform in all of their Valley based locations.
Written by: Shandee Chernow,Founder of Scottsdale Based CertiStar
CertiStar™, Inc. is on a mission to protect and improve the safety and dining experiences of men, women or children vulnerable to food allergies and intolerances. Our patent-pending MenuStar™ restaurant software allows you to identify food allergy threats for your customers with just one 3-second search.
