Workshop 1 Odor measurements using human judges (including judge training and standardization)

This group consisted of participants from various academic institutes and industry: Most of the academic research groups had no formal training program in place. Several of the group members had worked with John Greenman's group to train and standardize. Also, a couple of academicians did set up some type of training where they at least worked together smelling human breath to train and calibrate before they began seeing patients. However the industry had elaborate training programs in place. Samples used by industry for training were mostly garlic and onions; some of the groups used scratch & sniff tests or essential oils. Organoleptic judges should have training documentation after completion of training. This should be recommended to the ADA. Airborne infections:  Concern about sniffing patients in close proximity was raised. Some people in industry monitor their judges closely by conducting medical exams on an ongoing basis. Medical histories of the patients should be looked at closely. Universal precaution laws should be followed closely. How to sniff:  Different methods were discussed, ‘blinding’ helps. Different ways of sniffing – some used glass tube, breathing out, e.g. counting out loud to twenty or saying ha ha ha etc. Descriptors should be provided to the group for training as it is difficult for organoleptic judges to come up with appropriate phrases. While most of the academic groups trained directly with subjects, several academic groups reported developing training programs based on ASTM standards. The people from Industry all used ASTM standards. Certification was provided after 1 year of training with subjects.