Black Raspberry Decomposition

Trichoderma spp. growth on hidden black raspberry - N. Carlson

Two Raspberries had a few small areas of mold growth several weeks ago. I placed the berries in a sealed container to my office and let the forces of natural decomposition take place.

Raspberries hiding under the fungal growth- N. Carlson

Trichoderma spp. 400x Samsung S-7 camera (Photoshop edit) - click to enlarge - N. Carlson

I occasionally find this organism growing on sheetrock. The primary colonizer of most of these fresh fruits in my refrigerator is usually Botrytis spp.   - Addio for now.

Green bacon

Green bacon inside biosafety cabinet - N.Carlson

These nitrate free bacon strips spent a little too much time in my refrigerator. It was time to identify the less than desirable furry addition. I took a tease tape sample with Lacto-Fuchsin stain and looked at it under 400x power Olympus microscope. I photographed it with a Samsung S-8 cell phone camera through the eye piece. The image was cropped and enhanced using Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018. The distance between the 1 and 2 on the scale is 25 microns.

Penicillium spp. at 400x N. Carlson

Cream cheese mold

Moldy cream cheese- N. Carlson

I lost the lid for my cream cheese container and put it inside cleaned sealed Cool Whip container.  I had forgotten it in the fridge for several weeks. I took it our to spread it on some crackers and ended up tossing it when I saw the mold growth. Before tossing it I tease taped the mold with clear Scotch Tape and examined it under the microscope at 400x power.

Growth of Cladosporium spp. at 400x - N. Carlson

Minnesota Public School Indoor air quality Training Fall 2018

Infrared photo of cold air door leak

School Indoor Air Quality Training

Public schools must have health and safety programs that comply with health, safety, and environmental regulations and best practices, including indoor air quality (IAQ) management. One best practice is that public schools have an IAQ Coordinator. This training will discuss the state’s best practices for school IAQ management. While there is no refresher training requirement, previous attendees are encouraged to attend (content changes every year). Non-public schools, service providers and other stakeholders are also encouraged to attend.

Dates

St. Cloud: September 20, 2018           10:00 am – 2:00 pm                   

Duluth: September 21, 2018               10:00 am – 2:00 pm                   

Marshall: October 2, 2018                  10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Roseville: October 10, 2018                  8:30 am – 12:00 pm                         

Webinar: October 30, 2018                  1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

For more information and to register:

www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/indoorair/schools/training.html