The printer Carestia Arcade Beauty is collaborating with the CNRS olfactory cell and the University of Nice to develop an ENT test to detect loss of smell in people. Anosmia, which refers to a loss of sense of smell, is indeed one of the first symptoms of coronavirus.
Carestia, which specializes in products for perfumers and in paper impregnation technologies - its flagship product is the blotter, which allows the perfume to be tested in stores or laboratories - has been commissioned to develop an easy-to-use kit for carrying out the tests.
"?Ce test will immediately detect anosmia or olfactory loss in a subject partielle?" explains Marie-Hélène Marcelli, director of Carestia Arcade Beauty. It should be ready by September.
When subjects are unable to recognize the odour printed on the paper, they will then be required to undergo further medical examinations to establish a diagnosis. The olfactory kit will initially be developed in the Alpes-Maritimes.
Established in Mouans-Sartoux near Grasse, the Carestia printing house has been accompanying perfumers since its creation in 1883. In the 1970/80s, it began collaborating with major brands thanks to a new product called "?touche to sentir?" or blotter.
Since then, this product has become the company's core business. In 2013, the company was taken over by the Arcade Marketing Group, a major supplier of sampling solutions to major cosmetic brands.
