WHAT’S NEW

SS-AOAC Annual Meeting

Chemistry Presentations

Cannabis Compliance Testing: Abundant issues exist so why do we still do it?

Stephen Goldman, PhD; Chief Science Officer; Kaycha Lab

We’ve all heard about issues in cannabis testing: lack of standardization, differing state regulations, varying method validations, potency inflation, bad actors etc. They are all true. We’ll discuss some of these issues, and some new ones, which will put the cannabis testing industry in a bad light. So why continue down this path? We’ll also see what works and how we’re still driving consumer safety upwards, despite all the issues. 

Challenges in Analytical Testing Observed in Various Cannabis Matrix Type

Alexandra Tudor, Director of Business Development, TEQ Laboratories

As cannabis and cannabis-adjacent products increase in prevalence, so do the challenges around analysis of these product types. Intrinsic properties of these matrices pose unique challenges to the preparation of material for analysis. Laboratories often don’t have the necessary information to understand the materials themselves due to numerous factors, including limited technical resources available in the analytical testing space. Increasing awareness of the challenges in preparing cannabis and cannabis adjacent matrix types for microbial and chemical analysis can help elevate the data produced when analyzing these materials.

Microbiology Presentations

Methods Validation: A Comparison of AOAC, FDA, and ISO Methods Validation Protocols

Thomas Hammack, M.S.; Senior Policy Analyst; Division of Microbiology, FDA/CFSAN

Microbiological methods validation is an integral part of our food safety system in that it helps to assure us that negative sample results generated by both instrumental and cultural methods are true negatives. AOAC, FDA, and ISO all have microbiological methods validation protocols that can be used to validate both proprietary and non-proprietary microbiological methods. AOAC has its Appendix J (http://www.eoma.aoac.org/app_j.pdf). FDA has its microbiological methods validation guidelines (https://www.fda.gov/media/83812/download). Finally, ISO has its 16140 series and ISO 17468:2016 (https://www.iso.org/standards.html). This presentation will highlight the similarities and dissimilarities of these different microbiological methods validation protocols.