Hazardous organisms?

[lisab]

My work is considering offering a new test method which measures the effect of two types of fungi on adhesives. This test involves two types of fungi, Aspergillus niger van tieghem, and Penicillium luteum.

None of our employees have experience with this kind of test, but the method doesn't look complicated at all.

I'm looking at possible hazards posed by these fungi. This document (http://www.epa.gov/oppt/biotech/pubs/fra/fra006.htm)is a good summary for A. niger.

But I'm not finding much for the Penicillium. Can someone point me in the right direction to find information about possible hazards posed by this organism?

[jim mcnamara]

A few Pencillium spp. produce some mycotoxins: Ochratoxin Patulin.

Penicillium is primarily a soft rot fungus. In cereal grains the mycotxins can be bad news for animals or humans consuming moldy grain. I have never seen any documentation on pathogenic conditions (other than the mycotoxins above) for humans. P. luteum is purely a fruit mold - you've seen fuzzy green oranges? It is easy to culture. I do not know if it produces mycotoxins or not.

P. roqueforti is the mold in roquefort cheese, so not all penicilliums are a problem for human ingestion.

[lisab]

Thanks, that gives me some confidence. I figured if I couldn't find any information that specifically addressed its risk, then it must be fairly innocuous.