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Dr. Jackson Kung’u (PhD)- Mold Specialist.
Phone: 905-290-9101
Mobile: 437-556-0254

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Choosing your Lab for Mould Testing

So, are you handling a mould remediation project for a large commercial building and have to do mould sampling? Or, is it that you have mould in your home? May be you panicked, picked up the phone or maybe Googled “mould problems” and find your search results full of all different kinds of mould photos and it becomes a little bit more confusing because you don’t know what type of mould you’re dealing with. Or maybe you are a home inspector or a contractor and your clients have come across mould issues?

Well, whichever is the case, ultimately, what you will need is a laboratory to analyze your mould samples. You may need to know just the type of mould that is on your bathroom ceiling or you may just want to know the mould spore counts in your air samples.

And when it comes to choosing a laboratory for your analytical needs, there are certain factors that you must consider. While there are lots of labs – local, just around the corner or out of the country labs (maybe in the USA), and labs that will charge you unbelievably low prices, you must ask yourself – is this the right lab for my mould samples? Do I get quality results for my mould samples? Do I get help with understanding the test results?

If your answers to the following questions are positive, chances are that you have selected the right one.

Does your Lab follow Proficiency Testing or is it Accredited?

Proficiency Testing is a special quality assurance program that enables laboratories to monitor their performance and compare their results against similar laboratories. Unknown fungal culture samples are sent to the lab for identification. Correct results indicate successful rating and the laboratory is rated as proficient in fungal analysis.

Accreditation means a public certification by a recognized body indicating that the lab meets quality standards of that particular agency for accreditation. In North America, AIHA – American Industrial Hygiene Association and CAEAL/CALA – Canadian Association for Laboratory Accreditation offer both proficiency testing and accreditation for fungal analyses. Before being accredited, the lab has to be rated proficient.

Laboratories following any of the above –mentioned programs ensure that standard analytical procedures are followed in a standard laboratory setting and that the analysis is performed by qualified personnel. This means you are assured of the quality of your analytical results.

Does the lab have QA/QC departments?

The QA (Quality Assurance) and QC (Quality Control) departments are the backbone of any microbiology laboratory. All the procedures that the lab follows – right from the point of submission till the issuing of results – will be handled according to protocols. And all these protocols are documented in what is called a QA/QC Manual. The Lab Management ensures that all the critical functions beginning from sample receipt, sample logging, analysis, reporting and data archiving are done according to standard operating procedures (SOP). This means your samples are recorded and stored well in case you need to retrieve them. The analysis is performed by well trained analysts and reports are reviewed with considerable expertise. Your company data or reports data are all retrievable and stored confidentially.

Does the lab provide you assistance with results interpretation?

The reports issued by such labs generally state a method of analysis in a an easy to understand manner and this gives you an idea of how your mould samples are being analyzed. The results section will state a summary of findings. This means you get to know the names of moulds in your samples and a short explanation on them. For your air samples, you may get ready computed data on the mould spore counts and types. Your lab should be able to explain to you what the counts mean and what does the presence of certain mould spores indicate. Your lab should be able to provide you a formal presentable document or report of analysis.

So now you know what to ask your lab when you want to get your mould samples analyzed. If you have some queries, please feel free to browse our web-site www.moldbacteria.com or call 905-290-9101.

Watch this 3-minute video from MBL.

Article by: Sneha Panchal, M.Sc., Senior Microbiologist, MBL Inc.

Edited by: Dr. Jackson Kung’u, Principal Microbiologist, MBL Inc.
 

References:
Bradley P, Weekes Donald, Miller D. Recognition, Evaluation and Control of Indoor Mould. American Industrial Hygiene Association. 2008.

On-site Mold Identification

MBL is an industry leader in providing on-site mold sample analysis and support services. Our unmatched experience and knowledge of indoor mold provide benefits achieving successful project completion, or emergency resolution in a cost effective and timely manner. On-site mold sample analysis provides our clients instant results that are crucial in making decisions effectively. Being able to make informed and accurate decisions in critical situations is only one of the benefits that are realized by on-site analysis.

For details on on-site mold identification please visit http://www.moldbacteria.com/onsite-mold-testing-services.html.

Listeria Testing

Listeria is a deadly bacterium found in unpasteurized dairy products, raw vegetables and meats, and processed foods, including deli meats and hot dogs. A recent outbreak of listeriosis claimed at least 20 lives and left several others sick.

To safeguard the public, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is proposing new rules for Listeria testing. The proposed new rules include two new tests that food processing plants would have to perform:

  • Testing for Listeria near production lines such as ceilings and floors
  • Testing for Listeria on surfaces that come in contact with meat, including countertops and slicing machines.

If Listeria monocytogenes is detected, the company would have to place the meat in quarantine, clean the facilities and then re-test. If a re-test comes up positive, the company would have to test a random sample of the quarantined meat for Listeria.

If the quarantined meat tests positive, it would have to be destroyed.

The new rules would also require companies to report positive Listeria findings to CFIA.

Click CFIA to launch new listeria testing protocols for more details.

Spore Trapping And Counting

Spore trapping and counting is extensively used in crop protection to:

  • determine the concentration of pathogenic spores carried by wind
  • forecast a disease outbreak
  • get facts about periodicity of spore showers on crops as one of several infection requirements
  • determine correct timing of protectant sprays and other control measures. 

Spore trapping and counting also provide useful information about airborne spores that cause respiratory allergies such as rhinitis, asthma, and farmers’ lung disease. In building environments, spore counting and trapping can be used for detecting dry rot or other hidden mould. Although there are no acceptable levels of airborne fungal concentration in indoor environment, spore trapping and counting can also help in determining if occupants were potentially exposed to high levels of allergenic fungal spores.

Results Of Tapelift Samples

When Laboratory Results Make No Sense

Use of tapelift sampling is a perfect method to determine the type of mould growing on a substrate, say on a wall, ceiling and other flat surfaces. Since the mould sticks on the tape with it’s structures intact, identification of most moulds is possible to genus if not species. Results from a tape sample are generally a listing of the identified moulds in a ranking order.

Due to lack of standardized methods labs tend to report analytical results of tape samples in different ways. Below are a few examples:

Laboratory 1:

  • Cladosporium sp- Heavy growth
  • Penicillium sp- Moderate growth
  • Ulocladium sp- Slight growth
  • Stachybotrys sp (a few spores)

Laboratory 2:

  • Cladosporium sp- Major
  • Penicillium sp- Minor
  • Ulocladium sp- Trace
  • Stachybotrys sp- trace

Laboratory 3:

  • Spores, conidiophores and hyphae of Cladosporium detected
  • Spores, conidiophores and hyphae of Penicillium detected
  • Spores, conidiohores, and hyphae of Ulocladium detected
  • Spores of Stachybotrys detected

Which of these lab results would be useful to a mould investigator? The only common factor in these results is that the 3 labs have identified the same types of mould. The additional information they have provided is rather subjective and/or confusing and hence of little if any practical use to a mould investigator.

One great disadvantage of tape sample is that the area analysed is very small. Unless one has taken hundreds of tape samples, trying to apply results of one or two tape samples to the whole building is a big mistake. For example if a lab reports that the growth on the tape was heavy, it’s a big mistake to say there was heavy growth of mould in the building. Visual assessment of the extent and density of mould growth in a building is more reliable and of practical use than the assessment of tape or bulk samples in the laboratory. 

In conclusion, use of tape lift samples as a tool for mould investigation should be limited to determining the type of mould present on a specific surface.