Interesting news about a recall in Oregon for pesticide contamination:
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Seems like the lab industry isn’t as independent or reliable as it needs to be to ensure consumer safety.
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Probably depends on the lab. I visited @cmtlabs this week (I’ll be writing a post about my visit for the community next week, so stay tuned for that) and they are really dedicated to being accurate and professional. In Colorado at least everything is dependent on the state standards, and the labs have to be inspected and re-certified with the state every year.
The Colorado pesticide testing rules will be coming in to place this year so I’m sure we’ll see some disruption like there was in Oregon. Interesting point in the article about the supply chain issues though - how do you make sure what is tested is what is getting sold on the shelf?
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that’s much like anything really - we have chickens and sell eggs - the eggs have to get tested - last week one of our clients said there was a half formed chicken in the egg. we have no roosters. so clearly the egg wasn’t from our stock. and it had a half formed chicken in it as well so it clearly wasn’t properly tested. Consumers are living in the blind in most areas.
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That and no process is completely perfect. With any testing, you’re only testing a small sample of the population. Testing the whole batch would be largely impractical.
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The lab industry needs a lot of work, especially in states other than Colorado. There’s a bit more regulation here, but there are still some issues that need to be resolved.
Our co-founder formed Colorado Lab Council to address inconsistencies and make sure that everyone is on the same page. We also make sure to be a part of The Association for Commercial Cannabis Laboratories for similar reasons.
Our lab is not interested in giving customers the results that they want; we give accurate results. Science is not biased. With 2 PhDs on staff, they’re very passionate about that.
What we do offer partners is free consulting. If you fail micro, for example, we’ll come on site and swab everything at your facility. Or if you are failing edible homogeneity tests, we’ll go through your procedures to find out what’s causing the inconsistencies. You can be friendly without being “friendly”!
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Another recall, this time in Denver:
Looks like a voluntary recall after inspectors had concerns around pesticide residues and lack of controls in their process.
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Some notes on storing: We use C-Vaults to store the cannabis with 62% Bovita or Integra 2 way humidifier. Keeping the relative humidity bellow 63% will keep your plants safe from getting molded. So it keeps your flowers set to the 62% humidity. Molds can thrive usually between 77F - 86F temperatures, so keep in mind to check your storing temperature and make sure its set between 50F and 75F. To much heat can dry the cannabis and the terpenes. Another thing to be cautious is the oxygen. Make sure to fill your storing vaults to all the way top so there is no room for oxygen which can damage your products too.
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An interesting article asking the question of what’s really in those vape cartridges?
https://www.merryjane.com/health/whats-really-inside-cannabis-vape-cartridges
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The tobacco industry has mandated quality testing. Having “end-of-the-pipeline” testing catches everything, accidental contamination, intentional dishonesty, all of it.
In Nevada (which the document has provided references) both pesticide and mold and bacteria testing are legally required on every 5 lb. batch. California is going to have very similar requirements stating in 2018, as per the Bureau of Medical Cannabis regulations, which are currently up for public comment at critical public meeting throughout California.
Example of Nevada Mandated Testing
Nevad_State_Testing_Suite.pdf (271.4 KB)
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From my experience in Northern California at Steep Hill and in Nevada at DB Labs, mold is one of the major problems that growers face. In Nevada approximately 50% of samples failed for total yeast and mold, almost all of which was for Penicillium species of bread mold.
This species really enjoys colonizing cannabis plant tissue, and has no effect on patients without a compromised immune system or an allergy. Having said that, many of the legal sales of cannabis are specifically for medical patients, many of which may be immune compromised, allergic to molds, or have a compromised immune system from chemotherapy or other extreme forms of medical treatment.
The only real solution to mold spore problems is to decontaminate the facility, which is expensive and time consuming, but ultimately the way to go for a commercial operation. Many clients of ours have asked us repeatedly if there was a scientific solution to de-contaminate an existing batch of dried cannabis flower. The answer is YES, but it comes at a cost:
Microwave radiation is capable of killing mold spores on a cannabis plant. Note this will reduce the viable mold spore count, but will not have any effect on mycotoxin or allergen concentrations in the medicine. The microwave radiation heats the water inside the spores causing them to rupture. This comes at the cost of cannabinoid content, which is heat senstitive and oxidizes and decarboxylates to other compounds, damaging the financial value of the medicine.
The rates in this study was measured across 3 minutes of microwave radiation which saw a total yeast and mold spore count drop from 25,050 to 37, and a THCA concentration drop from 13.4% to 9.9%. I recommend reading through the study to gauge was length of time is most appropriate for your batch’s particular mold and yeast levels.
20160406_Microwave.pdf (282.3 KB)
In reference to the future of Mold testing in California, from the proposed regulations released a few weeks ago, it seems like the bureau is going to go with a mold species-specific policy, naming harmful species of mold and limiting the allowable number of spores. Harmless species such as Penicillium would be unregulated in this new system, as labs would not be required to test for total yeast and mold anymore. Although this system has its advantages for the majority of cannabis patients, it leaves the immune-compromised cannabis patients in a dangerous position.
A good solution would be to allow producers to opt out of testing based on a rating system. If you want Grade A cannabis you get the harmful mold tests. If it has to be Grade AA, you have to pass the total yeast and molds, and then Grade AAA would be total yeast and mold and total bacteria. This would allow the removal of “pharma-grade” style headaches to producers making simple recreational cannabis flower, but allow the severely sick cannabis patients to access medicine that is safe for them to consume.
Next Public Comment to Discuss CA Cannabis Regulations:
June 1st in Eureka, CA
Show up and share your opinion on the new proposed regulations
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Wow that’s a high percentage to fail the mold tests. I like your idea of different grades for passing different test, as like you said the mold is only and issue for some.
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Pffft! More psyience!
Here’s how Real Men do it:
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IPM is the most important part of any grow or any harvest of any AG. Water, lights, enivroment, host plant and pathagon . I have a OMRI certified insecticide and a omri certified fungicide available. but keep eyes on things is the biggest part . I think anyway
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Some crazy stats in this article:
“The Association of Commercial Cannabis Laboratories (ACCL) recent assessment of the prevalence of pesticides and fungicides shows that around 50 percent or more of the commercially available flowers and concentrates may contain concerning levels of harmful chemical residues.”
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The interesting thing about pest management is that I’ve really seen two routes that can lead to successful agribusinesses:
- Rely on science on technology to keep ahead of the pest curve. Pesticides are static defenses, which most pests will evolve defenses against. Keeping up with current pesticides (and safety practices) can keep a business successful. GMOs can also provide built-in defenses against pests that are more effective (and safer) than traditional pesticides.
- Rely on integrated pest management. This is a much more labor intensive method, as it requires being proactive about all pest matters, but it can prevent most of the major issues when done right. That said, sometimes something can happen out of your control.
People who choose to go neither route, and instead choose to do what they’re accustomed to will often experience these contamination problems.
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We’re seeing pest-free results with recirculating nutrient delivery in rockwool, which NEVER comes with bugs in the bag. That said, while cleanliness is very important the most effective pest defense seems to be a good offense:
“Insects and disease are the symptoms of a failing crop, not the cause of it. It’s not the overpowering invader we must fear but the weakened condition of the victim” - William Albrecht
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Some updates on the Oregon new testing process:
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Another article of concern around contamination:
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Nicholas our Moonshine Foliate will take care of this issue of mold 100% plant based non toxic we have not yet decided to market full bore until we have our Hydroponic Moonshine moving in more locations but we have send samples with great results I am aware growers don’t like a foliate but our mix is awesome. Well not everyone we have out side growers applying it.
Gary
Moonshine man
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