Editors’ Series: AOAC Emergency Response Validation for Total Yeast and Mold in Cannabis Products

Fungal contamination continues to be an issue for cannabis cultivation regardless of the mode of product (indoor grow facility or outdoor field). Recent studies have found that the rate for microbial failure can be as high as 10–20% of batches produced, with a majority of failures linked to fungal contamination. At the request of state regulators, AOAC INTERNATIONAL launched an Emergency Response Validation (ERV) program to rapidly certify candidate methods for enumerating yeast and molds in cannabis flower. In this free one-hour webinar, AOAC experts joined Cannabis Science & Technology magazine to provide insight into:

• State regulations for microbial contaminants, including total yeast and mold count
• Development of the AOAC ERV study design
• Validation results for candidate methods within the ERV program

Originally aired January 12, 2021.