From last year to this year we have seen failing results decrease significantly.
R&D samples are at about 20% to 30% fail rate due to people screening for clean material in order to submit samples for State compliance.
For compliance the State provides a weekly report for failed samples and what they failed for: www.bcc.ca.gov
(ball park numbers)
this is also a problem in other industries as well.
The wine industry suffers from certified labs that give false readings and fail to detect pesticides in bottle that were used on grapes.
Indeed the regulators need to constantly monitor the labs for accuracy and precision.
what is the growers recourse for inaccurate analysis ?
You should email the BCC and let them know you have reasons to believe your lab submitted faulty results.
Did you see an increase in failures around July 2018? 
of course.
but, what is the growers recourse for inaccurate analysis ?
What disclaimers does your company require ?
Does Infinite offer other testing services?
Absolutely!
That was around the time the BCC released a public service announcement clarifying that all cannabis products being sold in the licensed market place must go through compliance testing
I bet you got a lot of panicked phone calls leading up to that date!
Can you share some of the R&D services that Infinite offers?
I think this is an excellent point. Standing out as a cultivator with higher standards sets growers apart - where it counts the most.
Hi @arojo, thanks for hosting the AMA today.
Iām curious, is there different testing standards for recreational cannabis vs medicinal cannabis?
Thanks!
At the R&D level, if a client contacts us with concerns about inaccurate results we will re-process the sample to confirm.
At the compliance level every fail must be re-processed and tested in duplicate to ensure accurate results.
We always offer free consultations to all of our clients and offer solutions to isolate any contamination issues.
We also test for some non-cannabis companies but for the most part our clients are all from the cannabis / hemp industry
Potency
pesticides
heavy metals
residual solvents
microbial
mycotoxins
water activity
foreign material
This is a frequent topic of discussion among growers: When selecting flower material for testing, where on the plant do you suggest we growers should select buds?
The testing requirements for contaminants found in cannabis products are identical
Put this one to rest for us ā Fact or fiction: buds afflicted with PM can be processed for extract and none of the the mildew will make it through to the finished product?
Growers should select buds from all parts of the plant (top, mid & bottom) in order to get a representative sample
Per regulations, testing labs must homogenize the entire sample including stems which can potentially deflate potency results.
Are micro samples homogenized as well?
The only issue we see in that scenario is if the PM also has Aspergillus which has the potential to produce mycotoxins under very specific conditions.
Scary stuff! How often are you seeing samples affected by Aspergillus?
