... people over 80, reporting anosmia (Doty et al., 1984). Possible causes include atrophy of the olfactory bulb (Ordy & Brizzee, 1975), decreased volume of the layers of the bulb (Bhatnagar et al., 1987) and a decreased number of olfactory neurons (Hinds & McNelly, 1981). Taste and smell are important for the sensory and hedonic experience of eating and if they are impaired the physical and social pleasure of eating is degraded. Fortunately, these sensory losses can be largely offset by using flavour enhancers (Schiffman & Warwick, 1989). However, olfaction also has a warning role in the ability to detect "off" foods, smoke or gas. Therefore food manufacturers should provide large, clearly visible "best-before-end" dates and elderly people should have smoke and gas detectors in their homes. The elderly account for nearly a quarter of deaths due to accidental gas poisonings (OPCS, 1991a), hardly surprising since the ability to detect mercaptans (odorants ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now