All cultivation operations face the potential hazard of organic contaminants resembling mould, yeast, Aspergillus, E. coli, Salmonella, and different dangerous pathogens. In most states the place hashish is authorized, legal guidelines require merchandise meant for distribution endure microbial testing earlier than getting into the market. Shockingly, 10–15 p.c of authorized cannabis-flower checks fail to satisfy state colony-forming unit (CFU) limits. Failing microbial testing can have extreme penalties for business growers, together with misplaced income, costly fines, legal responsibility litigation, popularity harm, and even the lack of their enterprise license.
Consuming contaminated hashish can result in critical well being issues. Because the trade develops, further laws possible will evolve to include extra uniform requirements with much more rigorous testing to ensure the security of each medical and leisure customers. Clients additionally more and more count on any authorized merchandise they buy to satisfy a sure normal of security and high quality. Much like our public assumption that meals we buy at grocery shops is secure to devour, we need to have faith that legally grown and bought hashish merchandise are also secure.
The answer is hashish remediation. Good manufacturing processes can clear up most microbial challenges, however that alone can’t assure passing state laws. Cultivators ought to take a proactive method to remediating dangerous microbial progress on every little thing they produce.
Placing biomass by means of a remediation or decontamination course of may also help guarantee the top product will move any current and future microbial testing necessities and provides cultivators full confidence they’re distributing solely secure, clear merchandise into the authorized market.
Many various decontamination strategies can be found to cultivators. A few of these applied sciences have crossed over from the meals trade, however not all are perfect for the distinctive necessities of our trade. Every methodology has its personal set of benefits and drawbacks, and it advantages cultivators, wholesale distributors, and different key stakeholders to be told about their choices earlier than investing in new tools or processes.
Under is an summary of every of the main remediation strategies.
Solvents
Roughly half of all harvested hashish goes by means of an extraction course of that makes use of solvents like ethanol to create the concentrates which might be infused into non-flower retail merchandise resembling edibles. The method successfully doubles as a decontamination course of, as a result of the solvents kill all pathogens inadvertently. Nonetheless, there’s a rising pattern within the trade to make use of solventless extraction processes, which possible don’t remove pathogens. For plant materials not destined for extraction utilizing a solvent, remediation most likely continues to be essential.
Autoclave
An autoclave system makes use of warmth and stress to kill microbes. That is an easy-to-use choice, however it’s time-consuming and doesn’t enable stock to be processed effectively. As a result of autoclaves make use of moisture, they enhance the chance of mould infestation and may trigger decarboxylation, thereby lowering the quantity of THC obtainable to the person and altering different bodily properties of the plant.
Ozone gasoline
Ozone gasoline (O3) is a extremely reactive oxidizing molecule that destroys microbes’ mobile partitions, thereby inactivating or “killing” pathogens. Fuel remedy is cheap however time-consuming. Moreover, O3 could not utterly penetrate the bud and in some instances additionally could trigger harm to terpenes.
Radio frequency
Radio frequency (RF) is an electromagnetic power that happens when publicity causes a fast oscillation of ions and polar molecules resembling water, producing warmth and killing focused contaminants. Nonetheless, as a result of RF remediation depends on moisture, microbes in dry areas of the bud usually are not remediated successfully. RF remedy additionally could trigger burns and negatively impression the efficiency, shade, odor, and style of plant.
E-beam
E-beam radiation refers to machine-generated high-energy electrons. As electrons wouldn’t have mass, their penetration is restricted by power. This methodology is extremely environment friendly, delivering the dose considerably sooner than different irradiation strategies, however it’s costly, energy-intensive, and customarily produces poor dose uniformity.
Gamma
Gamma radiation is utilized by firms that produce medicinal merchandise in some international locations with nationwide medicinal packages, such because the Netherlands and Canada. It includes exposing hashish to photons generated by the decay of a radioactive isotope that damages the DNA strands current in natural matter, lowering microbial progress in vegetation. Nonetheless, the operation of those programs could be harmful, and its use is extremely controversial amongst customers.
X-ray
X-ray is an efficient type of medium- to high-energy radiation that gives glorious penetration for dense merchandise resembling hashish with out using a harmful radioactive isotope. An ionizing-radiation X-ray system, or X-rays created by means of high-voltage electrical energy, can absolutely penetrate buds by destroying mobile DNA to deactivate microorganisms with out altering the plant’s chemical profile or altering experiential properties resembling taste, shade, and psychoactive results. The programs require enough flooring house due to their measurement, in addition to a technique to eliminate warmth captured by an exterior chiller system to maintain the X-ray sources at a near-ambient temperature.
As a result of every methodology can differ considerably in effectiveness, price, security, high quality, and different vital components, educating themselves on every methodology will assist cultivators decide which methodology aligns greatest with their firm’s values and targets.
No matter which methodology one chooses, implementing a decontamination protocol means an organization is taking a proactive method to making sure their merchandise move current and future microbial testing, lowering monetary dangers, and serving to them confidently distribute secure, clear merchandise to the market.
Because the hashish trade quickly expands, prioritizing client security can be more and more important to ensure that particular person firms to thrive and for the authorized market as a complete to succeed.
Mark Clemons is normal supervisor at VJ Scientific, the cannabis division of VJ Group, a world supplier of high-tech X-ray options for the medical, pharmaceutical, meals, protection, and electronics-manufacturing industries. His staff develops X-ray know-how for safely remediating microbiological progress on hashish flower. He has been with VJ Group since 2020 and helped discovered VJ Scientific in 2022.