With multiple states now requiring third-party certification as part of licensing cannabis laboratories, there is a large role for laboratory accreditation in the cannabis industry. Using method validation can prove that your data is reproducible and that you have robust methods for sample preparation and calibration. All of these tools are instrumental in getting a laboratory accredited.
Amanda Rigdon, associate marketing manager for gas chromatography columns at Restek, Inc., will deliver a presentation, Opportunities and Challenges for Method Validation in the Evolving Cannabis Industry, at the first annual Cannabis Labs Conference taking place this March 9th in Atlanta, Georgia. The Cannabis Labs Conference will be co-located with the third annual Food Labs Conference and the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (Pittcon) at the Georgia World Congress Center.
In her presentation, Rigdon will discuss established validation guidelines from a variety of regulatory bodies. “Method validation is absolutely critical to the cannabis industry,” she says. “Accurate test results not only help to protect consumers, but because of the high dollar value of cannabis products, accurate results can also protect producers from false positives, and laboratories in backing up their results.” She will also be sharing actual validation data from a number of cannabis analytical methods.
Scott Radcliffe, technical support scientist at Romer Labs, Inc., will share his validation methods of immunoassays for the detection of pathogens and mycotoxins in cannabis. He will include a discussion of specific rapid pathogen detection methods for Salmonella and E. coli O157 species. This will cover their small-scale validation studies with partner labs in Michigan and Washington for immunoassays.
Stephen Goldner, Esq, founder of Pinnacle Laboratories, will discuss how cannabis labs can apply FDA lab practices with recommendations for short and long term management implementation. Goldner’s presentation will include a discussion of preparation for FDA involvement in sate regulatory systems.
Beyond validation methods in laboratories, the Cannabis Labs Conference will feature several presentations on ISO/IEC 17025:2005 compliance, the need for standardization, seed-to-sale traceability, FDA best lab practices and cannabis quality. Nic Easley, chief executive officer of Comprehensive Cannabis Consulting (3C), will deliver the keynote presentation on the role of quality assurance in the cannabis industry.
