Tag Archives: contaminants

April 8, 2026

This Company Wants Your Dirty Grow Air Filters

By Pam Chmiel

It is not uncommon for industries outside cannabis to adapt their technologies to address challenges unique to this maturing sector. American Air Filter International (AAF) is one such company, bringing decades of experience in air filtration for critical environments such as pharmaceutical clean rooms, food manufacturing facilities, hospitals, and even jet fuel applications.

According to Nikki Sasher, a microbiologist and head of the Clean Air Laboratory at American Air Filter International, cannabis cultivation facilities face a host of airborne risks, with mold at the top of the list. Once mold enters a grow, the financial consequences can escalate quickly, from destroyed harvests to failed compliance tests. Beyond lost revenue, there are serious biosecurity and worker health concerns tied to inhaling mold spores. In cases where Aspergillus reaches the lower lungs, Sasher notes, the mold can colonize and continue to propagate inside the body.

In 2022, a Trulieve employee died after suffering an asthma attack linked to prolonged exposure to ground cannabis dust in her workplace. Following the incident, OSHA cited the company for failing to implement adequate dust control measures, including proper ventilation and the use of HEPA filtration on vacuum equipment.

Health officials and researchers have since identified a range of respiratory hazards common in cannabis cultivation and processing facilities. These include mold and fungi, pesticides and chemical residues, and terpenes and other volatile organic compounds. Many of these compounds create strong odors and can interact with other airborne agents to form irritants that pose both acute and long-term health risks.

These incidents present a growing safety and occupational health challenge within the rapidly expanding cannabis industry, one that is increasingly difficult to ignore.

Filtration Is Not Yet an Industry-Wide Standard

Despite these risks, comprehensive air filtration is far from universal across cannabis operations. Sasher explains that geography plays a role. Drier climates, such as Nevada, tend to experience fewer mold issues than states like Michigan, Colorado, and New York, where temperature swings and higher humidity create ideal conditions for microbial growth.

Greenhouses, in particular, present ongoing challenges due to constant water activity created by irrigation systems and plant respiration. Sasher frequently sees mold outbreaks occur in drying rooms, where freshly harvested plants retain moisture. If mold is already present in the room or circulating through the air handling system, spores can easily settle onto wet plant material. Drying rooms are typically smaller and more enclosed than other areas of a cultivation facility, making them among the highest-risk environments in the entire operation.

The use of high-tech air filtration systems has only been around for less than twenty years; some sectors still need to catch up to the standards required in food and pharmaceutical manufacturing, such as adhering to minimum efficiency ratings, change-out intervals, locations, first-in, first-out process flow, and hazard analysis.

AAF Wants Your Dirty Filters

To spark greater industry awareness around the benefits of proper air filtration, American Air Filter International has launched a free filter-testing program for cannabis cultivators. Through the initiative, growers are invited to submit used air filters from their facilities, allowing AAF to analyze real-world contamination and build a clearer picture of airborne risks across the sector.

According to Sasher, the filters are evaluated for efficiency, resistance, and pressure drop, as well as downstream mold capture to determine what is circulating in process-facing air. AAF also uses scanning electron microscopy to examine the filter media at the microscopic level, revealing how particulate matter, such as mold spores, dust, and plant material, accumulates and impacts performance over time.

To expand the scope of the research, AAF has partnered with Dr. Alison Justice of the Cannabis Research Center. Together, the organizations are collecting data that will help quantify air quality risks and translate them into practical guidance for cultivators.

Exposed Areas in Cultivation Facilities

Modern cultivation facilities rely on complex climate control systems that include HVAC units, humidifiers, and dehumidifiers, each requiring filters with different efficiency ratings. Sasher notes that many of the filters currently in use fall below recommended standards, a gap AAF hopes to validate through its research partnership with the Cannabis Research Center. The goal is to help growers better understand which efficiency ratings are needed in different parts of the facility to meaningfully reduce risk.

Mold spores, Sasher emphasizes, are ubiquitous. Air filtration is only one engineering control among many, alongside practices such as room fogging and sanitation protocols. Once mold is introduced into a facility, it can be extremely difficult to eliminate.

One uniquely cannabis-specific challenge is the presence of trichomes. These microscopic, sticky particles easily become airborne during cultivation and processing, where they accumulate on filters, restrict airflow, and degrade filtration performance. As part of the testing program, AAF is evaluating how sticky versus non-sticky particulate matter affects filter lifespan and efficiency. The findings could help growers better determine optimal change-out schedules and identify operational factors that accelerate filter failure.

For Sasher, biosecurity is the most compelling reason to invest in proper air filtration. Through its collaboration with Dr. Justice, AAF aims to merge air quality science with cultivation expertise to produce data-driven research that the industry currently lacks. The partnership is focused on developing practical guidance around filtration standards, airflow management, preventative maintenance, and standard operating procedures, areas where formal benchmarks are still largely absent.

Looking ahead, the research team plans to identify pilot cultivation sites where filtration can be evaluated directly within active grow environments. By measuring conditions before and after filtration upgrades, they hope to quantify the impact on contamination levels and overall plant health. Sasher points to similar work in agricultural settings, where improved air filtration reduced livestock mortality rates by double digits, delivering measurable economic gains.

While cannabis-specific results will take time, Sasher believes the approach has the potential to deliver actionable insights that the industry can implement quickly. Even cultivators who are not using AFF products, she says, will be able to apply the findings to strengthen biosecurity, protect workers, and reduce costly crop losses.

Beyond Particulates: Managing Odors and Emissions

While much of the focus in cultivation facilities centers on particulate filtration, Sasher emphasizes that molecular, carbon-based filtration plays an equally important role in cannabis operations. These systems are designed to scrub gases and volatile compounds from outgoing air, an increasingly critical requirement as cultivation and extraction facilities operate closer to residential and commercial neighborhoods, and as consumption lounges come online.

In cannabis, terpenes are responsible for strong odors, as well as gases released during extraction processes that use hydrocarbons such as butane. These gas-phase emissions are subject to strict environmental and safety standards, particularly in regulated markets where operators are required to control odors and limit volatile organic compound emissions.

American Air Filter International addresses this challenge through a dual filtration approach. Pleated particulate filters support plant health and worker safety by capturing airborne contaminants within the facility, while carbon-based molecular filtration systems target gas-phase pollutants before exhaust is released outdoors. Together, these systems help operators remain compliant with local regulations while reducing environmental impact.

Sasher also points to a key differentiator in AAF’s gas-phase filtration program: the ability to test and monitor the remaining life and gas-holding capacity of carbon filters. By measuring remaining adsorption capacity, AAF provides operators with data-driven guidance on when to replace filters. This reduces guesswork, prevents performance failures, and supports more predictable maintenance schedules.

As regulators, communities, and workers place increasing scrutiny on air quality, molecular filtration is becoming a necessary extension of cultivation and extraction infrastructure rather than an option. As the industry inches toward rescheduling and ultimately descheduling, GMP-certified facilities will be required, and with that comes clean-air filtration.

CONTACT NIKKI SASHER IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FREE AIR FILTER STUDY: nsasher@aafintl.com

Listen to Nikki Sasher’s full interview on the Innovating Cannabis Podcast.

July 25, 2023

Safety & Compliance in the Absence of Regulatory Clarity & Consistency

By Joel Chappelle

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As the legal landscape surrounding cannabis continues to evolve, the creation of robust, sensible and consistent safety regulations remains stalled. A patchwork of broadly inconsistent state rules and regulations, along with years of federal inaction and policy stagnation have the potential to create significant risks for consumers. Given the industry’s explosive, multi-billion-dollar growth, consumers have access to an ever-increasing number of products produced by an increasing number of actors, pursuant to widely divergent standards and rules. Given this, the industry would be well-served to take on the responsibility of promulgating a coherent regulatory framework with robust (but sensible) safety regulations. The importance of collaboration among cannabis industry stakeholders cannot be overstated if we are to develop and adopt consistent standards that guarantee product safety at every step of the supply chain.

Joel Chappelle, along with several renowned experts, will lead the Seed to Sale Safety Workshop at the Cannabis Quality Conference this October 16 in New Jersey. Click here to learn more. Inconsistencies in safety standards and regulations open the door to a range of potential hazards, including contaminant risk, labeling accuracy, potency quantification and many others. Absent a clear understanding of seed-to-sale risks, many of which are not even mentioned in state regulations, cannabis companies face significant exposure, often without even knowing it.

To mitigate these risks, it is vitally important for the cannabis industry to collaborate in the ongoing development of safety standards. This means understanding and implementing safety measures starting with the cultivation process. Careful consideration should be given to factors such as the use of pesticides and herbicides, soil quality and irrigation methods. Standardized safety testing to ensure uniformity between products for potency, contaminants, heavy metals and microbial organisms is crucial to consumer safety. Accurate and comprehensive labeling is likewise necessary for consumers to be adequately informed.

For as long as consistent state and federal guidelines governing cannabis safety remain elusive, the need for industry self-regulation will be paramount. Cannabis companies must work together to share best practices, establish standard operating procedures and adopt stringent safety measures. By promoting transparency and collaboration, stakeholders can build credibility and consumer trust while fostering a safer and more reputable industry.

As the industry continues to grow, it is incumbent upon all stakeholders to continue prioritizing consumer safety through, among other things, a focus on education and inter-industry collaboration, if we are to continue cultivating a trustworthy and sustainable cannabis market for the future. The path forward will require stakeholders to pursue continuous education, improvement, and collaboration in the development of a holistic safety framework capable of ensuring consumer safety.

June 16, 2021

SC Labs Develops Comprehensive Hemp Testing Panel

By Cannabis Industry Journal Staff

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SC Labs, a cannabis testing company with roots in Santa Cruz, California, announced this week that they have developed a comprehensive hemp testing panel that covers a number of contaminants on a national regulatory level. In the press release, the company says they aim to fill the void of national hemp testing requirements.

The hemp testing panel they have developed purportedly meets testing standards in states that require contaminant levels below a certain action limit. The SC Labs hemp testing panel could theoretically be used for regulatory compliance testing across the country, reaching action limits and analyte levels that meet the strictest state requirements.

The panel tests for pesticides, heavy metals, microbiology, mycotoxins, residual solvents and water activity.

The panel is one sign of progress on the long road to nationally harmonized testing standards. “As an industry, we’ve been advocating for national, standardized, and transparent testing regulations for years now,” says Jeff Gray, CEO of SC Labs. “The government has been slow to respond so we decided it was time to act. As an industry, we’ve been advocating for national, standardized, and transparent testing regulations for years now. The government has been slow to respond so we decided it was time to act.”

SC Labs is headquartered in Santa Cruz, but has licenses in California, Oregon, Texas and Colorado (pending). Their California and Oregon locations are both ISO 17025-accredited and conducting THC-containing cannabis testing, as well as hemp testing.

February 3, 2021

Canadian Lab Offers Vapor/Smoke Analysis

By Cannabis Industry Journal Staff

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According to a press release sent out last week, Complex Biotech Discovery Ventures (CBDV) has expanded their testing capabilities considerably with the new addition of a vapor/smoke analyzer. CBDV is a licensed cannabis and psilocybin research laboratory embedded in the University of British Columbia, led by CEO Dr. Markus Roggen.

Dr. Markus Roggen, Founder of Complex Biotech Discovery Ventures (CBDV)

The ability to analyze vapor and smoke is a relatively novel concept for the cannabis space, but has been utilized by the tobacco industry for years now. In the early days of adult-use cannabis legalization in the United States, stringent testing regulations for contaminants like pesticides were adopted out of a fear for what would happen when consumers ingest toxic levels of contaminants.

One of the common refrains iterated throughout the industry over the past ten years was that there just wasn’t enough research on how different contaminants affect patients and consumers when burned and inhaled. We still don’t know too much about what happens when someone smokes a dangerous pesticide, such as myclobutanil. Beyond just contaminants, the new technology allows for companies to measure precise levels of cannabinoids in vapor and smoke, getting a more accurate reading on what cannabinoids are actually making it to the end user.

This new development coming from our neighbor to the north could lead to a breakthrough in the cannabis lab testing and research space. CBDV claims they can now analyze cannabis material with a much more in-depth analysis than basic compliance testing labs. The new technology for analysis of smoke, vapor, plant material and formulations allows companies to thoroughly understand their materials in each stage of the product formulation process, all the way to product consumption.

Beyond just smoke and vapor analysis CBDV also offers NMR spectroscopy, metabolomics, nanoparticle characterization, computational modeling and other testing services that go far beyond the traditional compliance testing gamut.

“Our new services offer comprehensive insights into plant material, extracts, end-products and even the smoke/vapor by using state-of-the-art analytical instruments,” says Dr. Roggen. “By understanding the chemical fingerprint of the material, cannabis producers can eliminate impurities, adjust potencies, and optimize extraction processes before wasting money and resources on producing inconsistent end products. As a chemist I am really excited about adding NMR and high-res mass spectroscopy to the cannabis testing offerings.”

January 16, 2019

Heavy Metals Testing: Methods, Strategies & Sampling

By Charles Deibel

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Editor’s Note: The following is based on research and studies performed in their Santa Cruz Lab, with contributions from Mikhail Gadomski, Lab Manager, Ryan Maus Technical Services Analyst, Laurie Post, Director of Food Safety & Compliance, and Charles Deibel, President Deibel Cannabis Labs.

Heavy metals are common environmental contaminants resulting from human industrial activities such as mining operations, industrial waste, automotive emissions, coal fired power plants and farm/house hold water run-off. They affect the water and soil, and become concentrated in plants, animals, pesticides and the sediments used to make fertilizers. They can also be present in low quality glass or plastic packaging materials that can leach into the final cannabis product upon contact. The inputs used by cultivators that can be contaminated with heavy metals include fertilizers, growing media, air, water and even the clone/plant itself.

The four heavy metals tested in the cannabis industry are lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium. The California Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) mandates heavy metals testing for all three categories of cannabis products (inhalable cannabis, inhalable cannabis products and other cannabis and cannabis products) starting December 31, 2018. On an ongoing basis, we recommend cultivators test for the regulated heavy metals in R&D samples any time there are changes in a growing process including changes to growing media, cannabis strains, a water system or source, packaging materials and fertilizers or pesticides. Cultivators should test the soil, nutrient medium, water and any new clones or plants for heavy metals. Pre-qualifying a new packaging material supplier or a water source prior to use is a proactive approach that could bypass issues with finished product.

Testing Strategies

The best approach to heavy metal detection is the use of an instrument called an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). There are many other instruments that can test for heavy metals, but in order to achieve the very low detection limits imposed by most states including California, the detector must be the ICP-MS. Prior to detection using ICP-MS, cannabis and cannabis related products go through a sample preparation stage consisting of some form of digestion to completely break down the complex matrix and extract the heavy metals for analysis. This two-step process is relatively fast and can be done in a single day, however, the instruments used to perform the digestion are usually the limiting step as the digesters run in a batch of 8-16 samples over a 2-hour period.

Only trace amounts of heavy metals are allowed by California’s BCC in cannabis and cannabis products. A highly sensitive detection system finds these trace amounts and also allows troubleshooting when a product is found to be out of specification.

For example, during the course of testing, we have seen lead levels exceed the BCC’s allowable limit of 0.5 ppm in resin from plastic vape cartridges. An investigation determined that the plastic used to make the vape cartridge was the source of the excessive lead levels. Even if a concentrate passes the limits at the time of sampling, the concern is that over time, the lead leached from the plastic into the resin, increasing the concentration of heavy metals to unsafe levels.

Getting a Representative Sample

The ability to detect trace levels of heavy metals is based on the sample size and how well the sample represents the entire batch. The current California recommended amount of sample is 1 gram of product per batch. Batch sizes can vary but cannot be larger than 50 pounds of flower. There is no upper limit to the batch sizes for other inhalable cannabis products (Category II).

It is entirely likely that two different 1 gram samples of flower can have two different results for heavy metals because of how small a sample is collected compared to an entire batch. In addition, has the entire plant evenly collected and concentrated the heavy metals into every square inch of it’s leaves? No, probably not. In fact, preliminary research in leafy greens shows that heavy metals are not evenly distributed in a plant. Results from soil testing can also be inconsistent due to clumping or granularity. Heavy metals are not equally distributed within a lot of soil and the one small sample that is taken may not represent the entire batch. That is why it is imperative to take a “random” sample by collecting several smaller samples from different areas of the entire batch, combining them, and taking a 1 g sample from this composite for analysis.

References

California Cannabis CPA. 12/18/2018. “What to Know About California’s Cannabis Testing Requirements”. https://www.californiacannabiscpa.com/blog/what-to-know-about-californias-cannabis-testing-requirements. Accessed January 10, 2019.

Citterio, S., A. Santagostino, P. Fumagalli, N. Prato, P. Ranalli and S. Sgorbati. 2003. Heavy metal tolerance and accumulation of Cd, Cr and Ni by Cannabis sativa L.. Plant and Soil 256: 243–252.

Handwerk, B. 2015. “Modern Marijuana Is Often Laced With Heavy Metals and Fungus.” Smithsonian.com. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/modern-marijuana-more-potent-often-laced-heavy-metals-and-fungus-180954696/

Linger, P. J. Mussig, H. Fischer, J. Kobert. 2002. Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) growing on heavy metal contaminated soil: fibre quality and phytoremediation potential. Ind. Crops Prod. 11, 73–84.

McPartland, J. and K. J McKernan. 2017. “Contaminants of Concern in Cannabis: Microbes, Heavy Metals and Pesticides”. In: S. Chandra et al. (Eds.) Cannabis sativa L. – Botany and Biotechnology. Springer International Publishing AG. P. 466-467. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318020615_Contaminants_of_Concern_in_Cannabis_Microbes_Heavy_Metals_and_Pesticides. Accessed January 10, 2019.

Sidhu, G.P.S. 2016. Heavy metal toxicity in soils: sources, remediation technologies and challenges. Adv Plants AgricRes. 5(1):445‒446.

November 19, 2018

EVIO Labs Florida Expands Operations

By Aaron G. Biros

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More than a year ago, we sat down with Chris Martinez, co-founder and chief operating officer of EVIO Labs Florida, when he just started getting the laboratory off the ground. In February of 2018, they became Florida’s first ISO accredited cannabis testing lab.

Fast-forward almost a year and EVIO Labs Florida is continuing their expansion in the state, now with locations in Broward County and Gainesville. “We are always looking at opportunities to better serve our clients and the patients of Florida,” says Martinez. “Opening Gainesville within a year of Davie was a goal we set for our team. We knew there was a need and opening Gainesville helped support the continued growth of FL medical marijuana program.” He says that between the two locations, they can now process upwards of 1,400 samples a day.

According to Martinez, much of that expanded throughput is thanks to their partnership with Shimadzu. “Our relationship with Shimadzu is very unique,” says Martinez. “Shimadzu instrumentation allows us to test in parts per billion for accuracy and sensitivity levels that empower us to see deep into the chemical makeup of these medicines. Operating in this space where speed and turnaround times are key, these instruments provide us with a platform to meet 24/48-hour deadlines.” They can now screen for contaminants such as pesticides, heavy metals, residual solvents, mycotoxins, aflatoxins and pathogens using instruments such as HPLC, GC-MS/MS, LC-MS/MS and ICP-MS, all provided by Shimadzu.

While Florida doesn’t currently have a final rule on testing thresholds, there are proposed regulations that would require independent lab testing for medical cannabis products. “Our clients are self-regulating at this time and in favor of the current proposed regulation,” says Martinez. “The proposed regulations will give Florida the most comprehensive and stringent testing regulation in the U.S. and arguably the world.”

For Martinez and the rest of the EVIO Labs Florida team, this is about protecting public health. “Our lab’s main focus is always first and foremost patient safety,” says Martinez. “As the market continues to grow, we continue to innovate through business intelligence software and other technologies to streamline the testing process for our customer’s.”

March 21, 2018

From The Lab

The Case for ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation in Cannabis Testing Laboratories

By Amy Ankrum

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Government regulations keep millions of Americans safe every year by controlling what companies can put in their products and the standards those products must meet to be sold to consumers.

Enter the strange case of legal cannabis: In order for cannabis to be legally distributed by licensed medical professionals and businesses, it must be tested. But unlike other consumable goods, cannabis is not regulated by the FDA. Without an overarching federal policy requiring cannabis testing laboratory accreditation, the testing and laboratory requirements differ greatly across state lines.For medical cannabis specifically, accredited testing facilities are especially important.

To be federally regulated, cannabis would first have to be federally legalized. It turns out that states and businesses alike are not willing to wait for a federal mandate. Many states have begun to adopt standards for cannabis testing and some, such as Ohio, have even announced mandatory ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for all cannabis testing laboratories. As the industry evolves, increased compliance expectations are certain to evolve in tandem.

Some cannabis labs have even taken the initiative to seek ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation of their own volition. Seth Wong, President of TEQ Analytics Laboratories, shared in a press release:

“By achieving ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, TEQ Analytical Labs believes that we can address the concerns throughout the cannabis industry regarding insufficient and unreliable scientific analysis by providing our clients with State required tests that are accredited by an international standard.”

Other laboratories, such as DB Labs in Las Vegas and EVIO Labs in Florida are also leading the accreditation charge in their respective states, ahead of any state mandates.

There are key reasons why accreditation in cannabis testing labs is important. First and foremost, cannabis is a consumable product. Like fruits and vegetables, cannabis is prone to pesticides, fungi and contaminants. The result of putting a potentially hazardous material on the market without proper and documented testing could lead to a public health crisis. An accredited testing lab, however, will ensure that the cannabis products they test are free from harmful contaminants.

By utilizing role-based trainings, labs can trust employees are receiving proper onboarding.

For medical cannabis specifically, accredited testing facilities are especially important. Because many consumers of medical cannabis are immuno-compromised (such as in the case of chemotherapy patients), ensuring that products are free from any and all contaminants is critical. Further, in order to accurately determine both short- and long-term effects of prescribed cannabis consumption, accredited and compliant laboratories are necessary.

Accreditation standards like ISO/IEC 17025 also provide confidence that testing is performed properly and to an internationally accepted standard. Rather than returning a “pass/fail” rating on products, the Cannabis Safety Institute reports that an ISO/IEC 17025 laboratory is required to produce numerical accuracy percentages in testing for “at a minimum, cannabinoids, pesticides, microbiology, residual solvents, and water activity.” Reliable data sets that can be reviewed by both accreditors and the public foster trust between producers and consumers.

Finally, ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation demonstrates that a laboratory is properly staffed and trained. The Cannabis Safety Institute’s “Standards for Cannabis Testing Laboratories” explains that conducting proper analytical chemistry on cannabinoids (the chemical compounds extracted from cannabis that alter the brain’s neurotransmitter release) requires personnel who have met specific academic and training credentials. A system to monitor, manage and demonstrate proficiency is necessary to achieve and maintain accreditation. With electronic systems in place, this management and documentation minimizes risk and also minimizes administrative time tracking and maintaining training records.

Following the proper steps of a standardized process is key to improving and growing the cannabis industry in coming yearsFor cannabis testing labs, utilizing a comprehensive software solution to achieve and maintain compliance to standards such as ISO/IEC 17025 is key. Absent of a software solution, the necessary compliance requirements can become a significant burden to the organization. Paper tracking systems and complex spreadsheets open up organizations to the likelihood of errors and ultimately risk.

Because ISO/IEC 17025 has clearly defined expectations for training, a software solution also streamlines the training process while simultaneously documenting proficiency. By utilizing role-based trainings, organizations can be confident employees are receiving proper onboarding and in-service training. Additionally, the effectiveness of training can be proven with reports, which results in smoother audits and assessments.

Following the proper steps of a standardized process is key to improving and growing the cannabis industry in coming years- which means utilizing technology tools such as electronic workflows to ensure proper process controls. Beyond adding critical visibility, workflows also create efficiencies that can eliminate the need to increase staffing as companies expand and grow.

For an industry that is changing at a rapid pace, ensuring traceability, efficient processes and visibility across organizations is paramount. Using a system that enables automation, process control, document management and documented training procedures is a step in the right direction. With the proper software tools in place, cannabis testing labs can achieve compliance goals, demonstrate reliable and relevant results and most importantly ensure consumer safety.

January 11, 2017

Analyzing The Emerald Test Results: Cannabis Labs Making Progress

By Aaron G. Biros

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The Emerald Test advisory panel recently convened to review the results from the Fall 2016 round of the semi-annual Inter-Laboratory Comparison and Proficiency Test (ILC/PT), ahead of the third annual Emerald Conference just a few weeks away. After reviewing and analyzing the results, the panel noticed a significant improvement across the board over their Spring 2016 round of proficiency testing.

Emerald Scientific’s ILC/PT program is a tool laboratories use to check how accurate their testing capabilities are compared to other labs. A lab receiving The Emerald Test badge indicates their testing meets the criteria established by the panel to demonstrate competency. This means that they were within two standard deviations of the consensus mean for all analytes tested, according to Wes Burk, vice president of Emerald Scientific. He says the labs performed better than expected on both the microbial and pesticide tests.

Wes Burk, vice president of Emerald Scientific.

Each lab has access to raw, anonymized data including a consensus mean, z-scores and kernel density plots. This round measured how well 35 cannabis labs perform in testing for potency, pesticides, residual solvents and microbial contaminants such as E. coli, Salmonella, Coliform, yeast and mold.

The advisory panel includes: Robert Martin, Ph.D., founder of CW Analytical, Cynthia Ludwig, director of technical services at AOCS, Rodger Voelker, Ph.D., lab director, OG Analytical, Tammie Mussitsch, QA manager at RJ Lee Group, Shawn Kassner, senior scientist at Neptune & Company, Inc., Jim Roe, scientific director at Steep Hill Labs, Chris Hudalla, Ph.D., founder and chief scientific officer at ProVerde Labs, Sytze Elzinga, The Werc Shop and Amanda Rigdon, Chief Technical Officer at Emerald Scientific.

According to Amanda Rigdon, chief technical officer at Emerald Scientific, the labs performed very well in potency, residual solvents and microbial testing PTs. This is the first year the proficiency testing includes pesticides. “All of the labs did a great job identifying every pesticide in our hemp-based PT, but some more work will most likely have to be done to bring quantitative results in line,” says Rigdon. “Since this was the first pesticide PT we had offered, we were pretty conservative when choosing analytes and their levels. For the most part, analytes and levels were taken from the Oregon pesticide list, which is widely recognized to be the most reasonable and applicable pesticide list out there to date.” They covered pesticides of high concern, like abamectin and Myclobutanil, but also included a wide range of other pesticides that labs are expected to encounter.

Shawn Kassner, senior scientist at Neptune & Company, Inc., believes microbial contamination proficiency testing should be a priority for improving public health and safety going forward. Although five participating labs did not receive badges for the microbial contamination PTs, panel members say the overall performance was really quite good. “Microbiology testing are essential analyses for all cannabis products and it’s just slower in regulatory implementation than potency testing,” says Kassner. “The risk of Salmonella and E. coli to an individual using a medical cannabis product could be very life threatening. Microbiology contamination is a huge concern for any public health agency, which is why we have seen that microbiology testing is usually the first analytical test required after potency.” Kassner notes that there were few outliers and with each Emerald PT program, he is seeing an improvement in overall laboratory performance.

For The Emerald Test’s next round, the panel hopes to make some improvements in the test’s robustness and consistency, like obtaining assigned values for all samples and comparing to a consensus mean. “We want to develop permanent badge criteria, streamline the appeals process and possibly implement a qualitative performance review in the pesticide PT,” says Burk. For the next round of pesticide PTs, they want to build a better list of pesticides to cover more states, allowing labs to pick a set based on their state’s regulations. Burk says they also want to collect data on whether or not matrix-matched curves were used for pesticides.

Rodger Voelker, Cynthia Ludwig and Shawn Kassner, all members of the advisory panel, will be speaking at the Emerald Conference, discussing some of their findings from this round of proficiency testing. The Emerald Conference will take place February 2^nd and 3^rd in San Diego, CA.