SBIR and STTR Success Story for
Samuels & Associates
(Information Posted/Updated on 02/09/2008)
Samuels & Associates
1222 Preservation Park Way
Oakland, CA  94612

Contact:    Sarah Samuels
Phone:      510-271-6799
Fax:          510-271-6791
E-mail:      sarah@samuelsandassociates.com
Web Site:  http://www.samuelsandassociates.com

Project Title:  Food BEAMS: Food and Beverage Environmental Assessment and Monitoring System
Related Award(s):  R43DK07845701
Technology Developed:
Food BEAMS is an electronic or web-based data collection tool that enables the user to accurately catalogue competitive foods and beverages sold on school, work site, and health care campuses, and to assess their adherence to food and beverage standards.

Key Words:  Competitive foods, Nutrition, Policy Adherence, Data Collection, Policy Monitoring, Schools, Health.
Uses of Technology/Products/Service:
The Food BEAMS electronic data collection system and nutrient database enables users to assess adherence to the state and local nutrition policies, and to identify which foods and beverages need to be changed to increase adherence and create a healthy nutrition environment. Food BEAMS uses an observational data collection methodology to catalogue the foods and beverages sold, links these items to a database containing the entered items' nutrient information, and then produces simple analysis of the adherence of the foods and beverages to state and local standards.

Applications: - Use by school administrators, nutritionists, and food service personnel, to monitor adherence to competitive food standards such as California's SB 12 and SB 965 - Use by private or public sector institutions such as work sites and health care institutions to monitor adherence to their own institutional nutrition policies. - Use by advocates, parents, and other key stakeholders to assess the nutritional quality of various environments such as the foods and beverages being sold in schools and public places such as parks, etc.

Benefit to Company:
SBIR Phase I has greatly supported our ability to develop the technical application (functionality, user-friendliness, scalability) of Food BEAMS. We have also benefited from a Technology Niche Analysis provided to us through the SBIR program. As a result Food BEAMS has been used in projects throughout California, and is also being used in other states such as Washington. We are looking forward to applying for Phase II funding and launching our system nationally.