MEDIA ADVISORY: Mayo Clinic Study Inspires Taylor To Launch Products that Detect Loss of Smell

Loss of smell found to be among potential indicators of COVID-19

Interviews available with:

• Co-leaders of Taylor Corporation’s COVID Response Team (from Safety and Human Resources)
• Leaders of Taylor Corporation’s product development teams
• Experts in olfactory scientific research at 3 leading universities

NORTH MANKATO, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Taylor Corporation has launched new tools for employers and consumers to help them identify loss of smell, which a growing body of scientific evidence – including a recent Mayo Clinic study – has found to be a more reliable indicator of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) than temperature checks.

Taylor’s loss-of-scent detection tools use a patent-pending process of printing scented inks on small “scratch and sniff” cards to identify whether someone has experienced a loss of smell. The company worked directly with several major universities and experts in the industry to support its ongoing scent-screening solutions development. As one of the largest graphic communications companies in North America, Taylor has long pioneered innovative print-based solutions to common business problems.

Taylor first identified the role that loss of smell can play in screening protocols when nurses on-site at a plant began conducting scent checks using jars of easily recognized substances such as vanilla and cinnamon. These homegrown tests identified several employees with COVID-19 who had passed their initial temperature checks. When this real-world experience was supported by Mayo Clinic findings, Taylor began to envision an easier way to conduct scent checks among a broader audience. As a result, the company developed a scalable, single-use, hygienic, non-invasive and recyclable method to conduct scent checks as a part of symptom screening to help protect the productivity of organizations everywhere.

Nearly all states have some type of symptom screening requirement or recommendation to help control the coronavirus pandemic. Testing for loss of smell is being seen by various medical experts as a more reliable indicator that can be combined with self-reported symptom screening and temperature checks to help companies and communities stay safe.

Taylor offers its tools in several different formats for use by both children and adults in home, school, business and retail settings. scentcard™ has two scratch-and-sniff areas per card while Scent Check™ has four areas. Both carry a variety of scents placed randomly throughout the card decks. Taylor also manufactures PRO versions that incorporate QR codes and smartphone apps for instant alerts and automatic reporting of employee results to businesses seeking to monitor the health of their workforce. This is the first fully-operational scent screening solution available at scale and has been implemented in manufacturing, construction, warehousing and distribution, and long term care facilities. Taylor has scaled its production and technology capacity to produce millions of scent screening cards per week.

ABOUT TAYLOR

Taylor Corporation is one of the top five graphic communications companies in North America. Headquartered in North Mankato, Minnesota, the company employs more than 12,000 people across operations in 25 states and eight countries and has more than 170 total granted patents and pending applications in various areas of materials science and solution engineering.

Mayo Clinic’s study mentioned above is independent research cited under fair use standards and is not to be considered an endorsement of this product.