To better serve the Canadian market, St. Croix Sensory opened its first international odour laboratory in Toronto, Canada in February 2023.
St. Croix Sensory – Canada , is a third-party odour laboratory, dedicated to providing quality odour data and exceptional customer service to our Canadian clients. The laboratory offers a full range of olfactory evaluations, including thresholds, characterization, intensity and persistency values.
St. Croix Sensory’s Odor Sensitivity Test Kit is utilized to test the noses of potential odour inspectors. The n-butanol odourant pen dilution series provides a standard measure of sensitivity.
It takes approximately 20-minutes to complete the test for one user.
Watch the video to see how the test is administered.
Note: this video was updated in June 2020 with specific precautions for COVID-19.
Test Kit
Dimensions: 17.125 x 13 x 2.25″ (43.5 x 33.0 x 5.7 cm)
Weight: 1.8 lb (0.8 kg)
Individual Pen
Dimensions: Diameter 0.625″ (1.6 cm) Length 5.625″ (14.3 cm)
Weight: 0.5 oz (14g)
Kit Contents:
14 test pens containing n-butanol
2 blank pens
Eye mask blindfold
Gloves for Test Administrator
Test Procedure (you can also print from “Download” section)
Test Data Sheets (you can also print from “Download” section)
Test Record
Serial Number Sticker with Expiration Date
Convenient Test Kit Packaging
Q: What is the shelf-life of the kit?
The odour sensitivity test kit has a 6-month or 50-use shelf life.
Q: What is the odour in the pens?
The odourant pens contain n-butanol at varying dilutuions. Pen #15 is highly diluted that is noticed by only a small percent of the population. Pen #2 is strong n-butanol that is noticed by almost the entire population.
Q: What is a normal testing score?
Studies have shown a normal score in the population is pens 7-9, depending on age.
Odor Sensitivity Test Kit Product Sheet (pdf)
Odor Sensitivity Test Kit – Test Procedure (pdf)
Odor Sensitivity Test Kit – Data Sheets (pdf)
Reference List for Test Administrators (pdf)
How to Administer the Odor Sensitivity Test Kit (video)
Odor Sensitivity Test Kit on Modern Marvels (video)
A Nasal Chemosensory Performance Test for Odor Inspectors (pdf)
A.M. Lay, C.M. McGinley
WEF Odors & Emissions – Bellevue, WA, April 2004
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