Bye, Bye Microbes

How Adapted Medical Technology is Creating a Safer Industry

“Among gardeners, enthusiasm and experience rarely exist in equal measure. The beginner dreams of home-grown bouquets and baskets of ripe fruit, the veteran of many seasons has learned to expect slugs, mildew, and frost.” — Roger Swain

In the past decade, the U.S. has started to change its view on cannabis. There are now 48 states with some form of legalized cannabis. Of those, 33 require mold, mildew, and bacterial testing. Washington State was an early adopter of adult-use consumption and has enacted several important consumer safety regulations over the last nine years.

While the state’s testing system is imperfect, catering more to medical users than adult-use when it comes to safety standards, it does regulate the presence of mycotoxins in all products. Some molds can produce toxic byproducts, known as mycotoxins. Rather than requiring total yeast and mold counts (TYMC), Washington tests for the toxins produced by mold and mildew. These mycotoxins include Salmonella and E. Coli, which the state has mandated cannot be present in any quantity in unprocessed plant material. The same is true of extracted or processed botanical products. Source, emphasized the importance of mycotoxin tests. Rad Source is a microbial remediation technology company with a background in medical and life-sciences applications. Its technology has been used for cancer and cell research, infectious disease prevention, and now cannabis remediation. “Adult-use and even patients suffering from Alzheimer’s, ALS, HIV and AIDS, cancer … and many more medical conditions are dependent on the safety, quality, and reliable potency of their products,” said Brady.

Both indoor and outdoor plants are susceptible to mold and mildew. Contamination can also occur during harvest, trimming, drying, or curing. “Currently, 15-20% profit loss has been calculated as average in the industry for those not passing state-mandated testing,” said Brady.

While prevention is the best approach to avoiding mold, there are several forms of remediation available. Some methods degrade the flower, resulting in an undesirable final product and potential loss of profit. Medical technology adapted for the cannabis space, however, is proving to be highly-effective at destroying microbes in plant material. flower can limit the effectiveness of some forms of remediation, but doesn’t pose an issue for other treatments. “Photonic Decontamination produces short wavelength electromagnetic energy — better known as light — that is able to remediate microbial contamination with a 99.9% confidence level,” said Brady.

“Even in the most tightly-packed flowers, the light is able to penetrate the entire flower and destroy microbes at the DNA-level, meaning that it inactivates the reproduction of existing microbials.”

This cellular-level purity helps build consumer confidence. It also serves as an assurance to policymakers who are concerned with the safety and transparency of the industry. As Washington continues to refine its testing protocols and create a more consumer-friendly atmosphere for cannabis, effective remediation technologies will play an increasingly important role for producers. ❖