Unsanitary handling of SCOBY starter - is it safe?

[Salad_Daze]

Hello everyone,

I am brand new here and just hoping to begin my first batch of kombucha. I needed a starter and was referred by a friend to someone who offered to sell me a baby. I went to her home and saw that she was not very thorough with hand washing (did not see any hand washing at all before she plunged her hand into the big jar to retrieve my Scoby moments after she had handled her cat!) Now I love cats and I'm not a germophobe usually (except for raw chicken cutting boards) but I had carefully sterilized my jar and heard so much about the importance of cleanliness, I am now a little nervous about using the mushroom. I think I'm still going to go ahead with it, but do the experts here think that is a bad idea? I don't have a lot of access to other sources and might have to try to grow my own if I don't use this one, which looks lovely, but…

Any thoughts or advice very much appreciated.

Thank you & I look forward to getting to know you!

 

[kyt]

I wouldn't use it.
It will probably work just fine and probably make good kombucha, but if she cares so little about the culture and you, what else has she neglected? You can't be sure.
If you paid money for it, she got you.
I paid $40 for my 2 cultures I bought from Kombucha Kamp, and I'm pissed about how poor they have performed for what they cost. I could have received free cultures locally of superior quality from other brewers!
Hard lessons. If you live close enough to Louisville, KY I will gift you a culture.

 

[Salad_Daze]

Thanks, Kyt. I paid $10 - she had put an ad online. I'm just so eager to get started and don't have another source at the moment -- I think I'll try it anyway. If there are toxins, it will mould, right? Keep your fingers crossed for me...

Thanks for the offer of a culture, but I live in Canada.

Best,
SD

 

[kyt]

No mold is not indicative of toxins, but mold can produce toxins. If you get earthy tone dry fuzzy stuff on the surface, certainly toss the whole batch.
Kombucha mold will resemble bread molds.