Analytical Testing, from Seed to Product
By now, it is a foregone conclusion that incorporation of sophisticated analytical testing technologies is a requirement for cannabis cultivators and product producers alike. Most importantly, qualitative and quantitative testing is required to meet state regulations to ensure that cannabis product producers consistently deliversafe, high-quality consumables. Additionally, mastery of analytical testing technologies can provide growers and processors with invaluable information about their crops and processing techniques that can drive efficiency improvements and provide competitive business advantages.
Testing during various stages of the process can help to optimize growing conditions, increase harvest yields, accurately profile active compounds, efficiently extract of compounds of interest, identify and remove contaminants.Modern analytical technologies like High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Gas Chromatography (GC), Mass Spectrometry (MS), Supercritical Fluid Chromatography (SFC), Infrared Spectroscopy (IR) and others are just a few of the valuable tools that are employed by scientists in on-site laboratories or by 3rd party testing labs.
Let’s take a brief look at some of the many analytical tests that growers and producers can employ, from cultivation to final product. Information derived from these tests will help them to optimize their process, consistently deliver safe, high-quality products, and achieve business success.
R & D:
Analyze how growing and processing conditions affect the quality and yield of materials, such as verifying the cannabinoid profiles of young plants and optimizing the drying, decarboxylation and extraction processes.
Production Monitoring & Quality Control:
Determine the optimum time to harvest, verify that the extraction is complete, monitor compositional changes during processing, and document product potency.
Contaminant Testing:
Detect, identify and quantitate potential harmful compounds, including mycotoxins, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, growth regulators, and heavy metals, like lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium,and chromium in soil.
Growing and Harvesting:
Increase crop yield and quality. Generate cannabinoid/terpene profiles to determine the optimal production yield and quality attributes.
Post-Harvest Testing:
Monitor the effects of the production process, check the moisture content, and confirm the levels of the active compounds and absence of non-compliant pesticides on the plants.
Extraction:
Determine the optimal extraction process that will deliver CBD-rich cannabis oil from the plant entirely, quickly, and cost-effectively. Isolation and purification techniques following extraction serve to remove unwanted compounds and provide quantitatively pure materials.
Quality Control of Finished Products:
Properly identify materials, assess the composition of materials and extracts, determine strength and purity, and provide compliance results and documentation for product labeling.
Check the technical literature frequently to see the latest technologies and their application in the cannabis industry.
