He said staff refused to sell him the product after an alert message was displayed on the till.

BBC: Tesco burgers

The company showed off internet-enabled washing machines, refrigerators and ovens at CES. Some of the products will be out on the market later this year, but they will feature only limited versions of consumer-alert systems, said Steinkuhl, LG's product insight manager.

CNN: When refrigerators tweet and washing machines text

According to the Alert Energy website, the gum is "an energy product for adults who consume caffeine for energy" and is not recommended for children or people sensitive to caffeine.

CNN: Caffeinated chewing gum catches FDA's eye

"When Wrigley launched Alert Energy Caffeine Gum, we took great strides to ensure that the product was formulated, distributed and marketed in a safe and responsible way to consumers 25 years old and over, " Wrigley President Casey Keller said.

CNN: Wrigley halts production of caffeine gum

The whole concept of creating a company built around the astounding properties of a variety of green algae called nannochloropsis smacks uncomfortably of the 1973 Charlton Heston flick Soylent Green, in which the namesake food product at the heart of the story is supposedly made from plankton but is actually made from spoiler alert!

FORBES: Names You Need To Know: Aurora Algae

While he estimates it will be five years until such a product is on the market, Patwari says a network of wireless transceivers around a bed can measure breathing rates and alert someone if breathing stops without any tubes or wires connected to the patient.

ENGADGET: Researchers use wireless network to monitor breathing, could save lives