Industry Reflections

If you are attempting to ship your Bacillus powder products internationally to certain countries, your product may be sent for a third party plate count prior to approval. It is very important that you understand which plating method will be used to enumerate the product. If you don’t understand the method and the weaknesses of each method as it relates to Bacillus spores, you may have a surprise coming. The truth is; there is no standard method for plating high count Bacillus powders. Because there is no standard method for plating Bacillus powders, most labs will attempt to use a plate count method for plating water or wastewater. These types of methods will hang you out to dry pretty quickly as they just aren’t meant for your types of products. Here are some of the key concerns you will need to navigate along the way. Certified laboratory: Often, you will hear that customers sent your product to a certified laboratory. When I hear that a “certified lab” provided plating results, I always ask in which areas are they certified?  Their answer will often be your first clue that they may not be using the right procedure for your product.  Most often they are a certified drinking water laboratory or have […]

I love the scene in City Slickers where Jack Palance tells Billy Crystal “the secret to life is finding that ONE thing.” Billy asks, “What is that ONE thing?” Jack smiles and says “that’s what you have to find out!” Then Billy has to begin his odyssey to find that ONE thing in his life. Treating wastewater, optimizing fermentations or solving bioremediation applications is a similar odyssey. We often find adding microbes alone is not enough? There is usually something missing, often just ONE thing missing. You may ask “what is that ONE thing?” I bet you can guess what I’m going to say next? “That’s for you to find out.” Different from the movie, we aren’t going to pass away and leave you to struggle by yourself. We are here to help you find that ONE missing thing, which is usually different at each site. Sometimes the ONE thing missing is neutral pH, alkalinity, nitrogen, phosphorus, folic acid, cobalt (toxic), or a long list of many other ONE things. In some cases, such as bioremediation or my lawn this summer, the missing piece is water. They key to all of this is not to experiment on the site, but […]

Part of what is driving Microbial Discovery Group’s (MDG) current expansion is our desire to produce 50+ strains. Why do we want to be a Bacillus company that produces 50+ strains? Essentially, to offer the best service and products for our customers. Below are the three main reasons why our drive to produce 50+ strains is fueling our expansion. MDG’s belief in multi-strain product offerings The current Bacillus strain renaissance Competitive advantage MDG’s belief in multi-strain product offerings At MDG, we like adding multiple strains to our products. With the vast array of strains in our library, it is difficult to only put one or two of them in our wastewater, bioremediation, janitorial, sanitation, or landfill products. We like making 6-7 strain products, with each strain being complementary to the other rather than copies of one another. We do this to ensure the success of our products. For example, when these strains hit a wastewater lagoon, who knows what substrates, temperatures, oxygen, and pH conditions they will find. You must be prepared with a broad and complementary team of strains. Because of this, we need the ability to grow a lot of different strains. The expansion was necessary to ensure our ability to continue […]