Self-testing harmful bacteria and fungi

[nicos]

Hi all,

Does anyone know if, and how, I can test for harmful bacteria and fungi in my Kombucha, such as E-Coli, Aspergillus Fumigatus, etc.?
I do have a chemical engineering background, but do not know how I can get hold of the required materials (other than Petri dishes) to be able to identify certain harmful substances.

I do believe my Kombucha is healthy (no molds, etc. and never got sick from it); just want to be certain.

Thank you for your reply.

Best regards,
Nicos

 

[menkros]

Test it on the homeless, if they're still kicking in a week you've got yourself a winner.

 

[theDREWery]

My understanding is that dna sequencing would be needed, as most microbes just appear as rods or orbs under microscope. Chemical testing would need a great number of tests to isolate specific toxins. I seem to recall that most pathogens cannot tolerate acidic environments, so as long as you have a robust culture, you shouldn't run into issues. Just keep an eye out for mold and fungus, putrid smells, and stick to good ingredients. Kombucha cultures didn't survive a hundred years with a habit of getting infected.

TL/DR: best judgment, only you can decide what's safe for you!

 

[nicos]

...you shouldn't run into issues. Just keep an eye out for mold and fungus, putrid smells, and stick to good ingredients. Kombucha cultures didn't survive a hundred years with a habit of getting infected.

Thanks for your reply.
I want to bring my Kombucha on the market (small scale). Since there are quite some debates (read: critics) about toxic bacteria and fungi in Kombucha, I would to prove by having tested my Buch for the most common toxins. I know I will get that discussion, so what's better than to prove that they are not in the product than to show them the result.

So if anyone can tell me how to at least test for the most common harmful bacteria / fungi, then please let me know. I know it is possible, even not owning a lab, the questions is how.

 

[hunter_le five]

E-Colbucha.

 

[ffmurray]

plate it on agar, identify cultures, anything beyond that you are going a lot a bit to far IMHO but you should be A - OK if the the PH is below 3.7

 

[samiamsl]

I was just on maangchi.com for her makgeolli (korean rice drink) recipe and she sent hers to be tested at EMSL Analytical. Not sure how much it costs or if you're willing to have it tested by a lab but that could be an option.

 

[nicos]

Plating on Agar I have read before, so I will try that. The biggest challenge is how I can detect which culture is which.

Thanks, samiamsl, for your answer. On a German kombucha website I have seen that someone had it tested by a lab.
I was also wondering how much it would cost me to do so. If anyone happens to know how much it should cost, then please let me know.

Cheers all.

 

[buMbLeB]

Test it on the homeless, if they're still kicking in a week you've got yourself a winner.

How about that - weird, offensive AND pointless. I bet you get that a lot.

 

[menkros]

How about that - weird, offensive AND pointless. I bet you get that a lot.

More than you think

 

[Kimcheese]

See the Code of Federal Regulations Title 21, Parts 113 and 114. I don't know how you make your booch and your final product. But if you pH is where it should be than you're trying to prove a negative and it's not necessary.

Big concern with producing commercial kombucha is keeping alcohol under 0.5% throughout entire shelf life.

 

[ffmurray]

plating on Agar I have read before, so I will try that. The biggest challenge is how I can detect which culture is which.

Most of the time the cultures and strains are visually identified. This is how it is done in a smaller lab most of the time. This is combined with gram staining and a few other tests. In larger labs the have some seriously fancy machines. Bit of you are still interested in plating PM me and I can give you a lot more information on bacterial identification.

If you do not want to do this you could call around to your local medical test labs (or at least one that is sort of close, but they are all over the place) and see if they would be willing to do the testing for you.