Mold Bacteria Consulting Services

Serving Ontario and British Columbia

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The Mould Wallemia sebi

Wallemia sebi is one of the so called xerophilic moulds, meaning that it can grow under relatively dry conditions (i.e., low water activity). Wallemia sebi has a world-wide distribution. It is common in indoor environment and has been isolated from jams, dates, bread, cakes, salted beans and fish, bacon, fruits, soil, hay, and textiles. It is also common in agricultural environments where it is suspected to be one of the causes of farmer’s lung disease and other human allergies.

Wallemia sebi also produces a mycotoxin called walleminol A. Not much is know about the health effects of this toxin to humans in indoor environment.

Do you have a mould question. Send it to us at My Question.

The mould Scopulariopsis: how does it affect our lives?

Scopulariopsis is a large group comprised of a number of species commonly found in soil, decaying wood, and various other plant and animal products. In indoor environment Scopulariopsis is found on damp walls, cellulose board and wallpaper; wood; floor and mattress dust. Species of Scopulariopsis have also been isolated from carpets, hospital floor, swimming pool; wooden food packing, shoes and wood pulp. Scopulariopsis species are sometimes encountered growing on meat in storage.

ScopulariopsisA number of species of Scopulariopsis are of importance in medical fields, having been implicated in infection of nails. Many species of Scopulariopsis can liberate arsenic gas from substrates containing that element; this may be noticed as a garlic-like odour. In the past, there have been a few serious poisoning incidents due to the growth of Scopulariopsis brevicaulis on dyes used in wallpaper production. There were also suggestions that the infant cot death syndrome (SIDS) may in some cases be caused by Scopulariopsis but this have largely been refuted.

Scopulariopsis brevicaulis is by far the commonest species encountered in indoor environment. It is found growing on all kinds of decomposing organic matter, and flourishes on materials containing a high level of protein, such as meat and ripening cheese. It decomposes cotton, textiles and paper products and causes deterioration of paints. It is also implicated as a human pathogen.

Other common species include: Scopulariopsis acremonium, Scopulariopsis halophilica, and Scopulariopsis fimicola. Scopulariopsis acremonium has been reported as causing the spoilage of free fatty acids in stored barley. Scopulariopsis halophilica is particularly resistant to high concentrations of salt, and causes spoilage of salt fish in various Asian countries. Scopulariopsis fimicola causes the “white plaster mould” of commercial mushroom growing.

Do you have a mould question? Send it to My Question

Announcing Microbiological Services For Indoor Mould And Bacteria

Mold & Bacteria Consulting Laboratories (MBL) Inc. provides laboratory mould testing and identification. We also provide testing for environmental bacteria. Mould testing services include analysis of non-viable air samples (Air-O-Cell, Micro 5, cyclex D, LARO-100, pcm cassettes), viable air samples (RCS, Andersen, etc), direct microscopic and culture analyses of bulk samples (drywall, wallpaper, pieces of carpets, insulation material, dust, wood and other matrices), lift tape and swab or wipe samples. We also assist industrial and occupational hygienists, certified mould inspectors, environmental engineers and other consultants in troubleshooting mould and bacteria problems in industrial, hospitals, offices and residential buildings.

Turnaround time for all culture analyses is 10-14 days. Non-culture analyses takes 2-5 days for regular service and 24 hours for rush service. Please call if you need sampling information or a list of our prices. Download our Chain of Custody (Analysis Request Form.

We serve:

  • Certified Mould Remediators (CMR) and Certified Mould Inspectors (CMI)
  • Environmental engineering and construction firms
  • Industrial and occupational health consulting firms
  • Building demolition/restoration contractors
  • Homeowners and commercial building managers
  • Hospitals/health care facilities, schools, banks, libraries, museums
  • Insurance, real estate and legal professionals involved in mould and bacteria issues
  • Home inspectors.

Laboratories Services
Mould Testing:

  • Air Samples
    Culture (viable) analysis. This includes enumeration of the colony forming units (CFU) and identification of moulds to genus or species. Samples may include RCS, Andersen, LARO-100, or any other media suitable for culture analysis. The report includes a list of recovered moulds and their concentration as colony forming units (CFU), a statistical comparisons of samples where possible and information on the recovered moulds where available.
  • Non-viable (total spore count) Analysis. Samples include Air-O-Cell, VersaTrap Cassette, VersaTrap Sampling Cassettes, SKC BioStage, SKC BioCassette, Micro 5, Cyclex D, LARO-100, PCM and other cassettes. This analysis involve spore counting and identification of different categories of mould spores. The report includes spore counts for each category of spores and the grand total spore count for all spores per cubic meter of air. Wherever possible spore counts and categories of spores for all the samples are compared.
  • Bulk samples (e.g., drywall material, wallpaper, pieces of carpet, etc). Bulk samples could be analysed by either DME or culturing. A report for DME analysis gives a listing of the observed moulds in rank order. Information of the recovered moulds is also given. Culturing involve identification of recovered moulds to species and listing them in rank order.
  • Surface swabs. Swabs could be analysed by direct microscopic examination (DME) or culturing. A DME report for these samples is similar to that of bulk samples. A culture report includes a list of the recovered moulds identified to species level and concentration of these moulds if the analysis involved quantification.
  • Lift Tape samples. Tape samples are usually analysed by DME but could also be analysed by culturing. The report produced here is similar to that of DME for bulk samples.
  • Dusts (from carpet, upholstery, mattress etc.), Soils and other sediments. These samples are suitable for either culturing without quantification (Direct Plating) or with quantification. They may also be analysed by DME. A report for culturing for quantification lists the recovered moulds and their concentration as CFU per gram of dust or per unit area.
  • Sewage and sludge. Suitable for analyses by culturing. Could also be analysed by DME. Reports produced for these samples are similar to those of other samples.

Bacteria Analyses:
The samples discussed above except for lift tape and non-viable air samples could all be analysed for culturable bacteria. Since virtually every sample has some form of bacteria, it is important to have a clear objective for bacteria analysis. Also, some samples are not suitable for bacteria analysis or for some categories of bacteria. MBL analyses samples for the following bacteria:

  • Gram Staining and Enumeration of Culturable Bacteria
  • Total Coliform / E. coli (Presence/Absence)
  • Total Coliform / E. coli (MPN)
  • Total Coliform (membrane filter)
  • Fecal Coliform (membrane filter)
  • Standard Heterotrophic Plate Count
  • Legionella Detection.

Consulting Services
We are happy to offer assistance to industrial and occupational hygienists, certified mould inspectors, environmental engineers and other consultants in designing sampling strategies and also determining the most suitable types of samples to take for a given investigation. We also assist field consultants in troubleshooting mould and bacteria problems in industrial, hospitals, offices and residential buildings.

Indoor Mould: Which are the Bread Moulds?

People will normally talk of bread mould. But which mould is the bread. Bread mould could be any of the moulds that commonly occur on bread. Some of the common bread moulds are Rhizopus stolonifer, Chrysonilia sitophila (red bread mould), species of Aspergillus, species of Penicillium, and Monascus ruber. However, any of the indoor moulds can grow on damp bread.

Mould growth (white stuff) on rye bread

Bread moulds can cause significant losses in bakeries and stores. An outbreak of bread contamination by mould would require careful investigation of the whole bread making and storage processes to identify the source of contamination.

Do you have a mould question? Send to My Question.

Salmonella food poisoning and symptoms

Salmonella food poisoning has been a growing concern in recent news. It has frequently lead to recalls of beef, salads and organic products and, even peanut butter products. Salmonella food poisoning occurs when one eats raw or undercooked foods such meat, poultry, eggs or egg products. Properly cooked food can get contaminated with Salmonella if […]

Legionella pneumophila – Guidelines for Laboratory Interpretation

Legionella pneumophila is a Gram negative, aerobic bacteria that is characterized as an opportunistic pathogen. It is the cause of Legionnaires’ Disease, a severe form of pneumonia and, it is the cause of Pontiac fever, a non-pneumonic form of L. pneumophila infection. Legionella spp.’s mode of transmission is through aerosols or aspiration of contaminated water. The Public Health […]

The Indoor Mold Is An Early Warning Device

The mold (or mould, in the Queen’s English) has been the victim of a bad press. Mention the word and it conjures up an image of something rotting or in the process of decomposition. And yet, were it not for the mold that inspired the discovery of penicillin millions of lives would have been lost. […]