Got kicked off a recipe swap group for asking why my sourdough starter died

I joined a Facebook sourdough group called "Wild Yeast Warriors" with about 12,000 members. Posted a question asking why my starter turned pink and smelled like nail polish after 8 days of feeding it. The admin removed my post and kicked me within 2 hours, saying I was spreading "misinformation about healthy fermentation." Turns out pink starter means it's contaminated with bad bacteria and you have to toss it, which I learned from a bakery owner in Spokane. Has anyone else gotten booted from a food group for asking a legit safety question?

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aaron_ellis4219d ago

Pink starter is a huge red flag, same with that nail polish smell. That's not yeast, that's stuff like Serratia or other bad bugs moving in, and no amount of feeding will fix it. The group probably freaked out because they push this idea that sourdough is bulletproof and nothing bad can ever happen if you just keep feeding it. But real bakers know better, you dump it and start over. A bakery owner telling you that should be your proof, not some admin with a god complex. Food groups do this all the time, they'd rather protect the vibe than keep people from getting sick.

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