Keeping it Clean: Contamination Control in the Cannabis Industry
The ever-increasing number of cannabis products entering the regulated marketplace create a challenge for consumer product safety testing. Occurrences of contamination and adulteration can result in failed compliance testing, costly product recalls, and loss of consumer confidence.
Data is beginning to emerge that identifies potential sources in cannabis production and compliance facilities. An overview of recently identified issues related to heavy metals, foreign matter, and others will be presented.
Key Learning Objectives/What attendees will learn:
- Common sources of contamination in cannabis production and processing
- Approaches to mitigating contamination in your cannabis lab
- Preparing the cannabis industry for evolving regulations
Who Should Attend:
- Cannabis lab managers/directors, testing lab analysts, and chemists
- Cannabis producers
- Entrepreneurs considering starting a cannabis testing lab
For any technical questions please contact Jordan Ramesh: [email protected]
Presenter: Benjamin J Southwell (Assistant Professor of Bio-Analytical Chemistry, Lake Superior State University)
Benjamin Southwell holds a bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Chemistry from Lake Superior StateUniversity (LSSU) and Central Michigan University, respectively. With over 15 years in an educational experience, he currently teaches courses in Forensic Science, Instrumental Analysis, and Cannabis Chemistry. Additionally, he manages Superior Analytics, a university supported commercial laboratory with a focus on cannabis and environmental analyses. His current research focuses on studying the analytics of cannabinoids and terpenes in cannabis products as the Coordinator for the LSSU Cannabis Center of Excellence.
Presenter: Derek Wright, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Environmental Science, Lake Superior State University)
Dr. Derek Wright is an Associate Professor of Environmental Science at Lake Superior State University. Dr. Wright earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Rutgers University in 2008, with an emphasis of the biogeochemical cycles of trace elements in the marine systems. In his more than 20 years of experience with trace element analysis, he has extensive experience in ICP-MS (quadrupole and sector field), ICP-OES, MP-AES, and AAS. He has utilized these techniques for the accurate and precise measurement of challenging sample types such as seawater, hydrothermal vent fluids, atmospheric deposition, biological tissues, soils, foods, and sediments.
During his time at LSSU, he has served as chair for the School of Physical Sciences, and taught coursework in Environmental Science, Environmental Chemistry, and Environmental Health. In addition to trace element analysis his research also utilizes microbial source tracking methods.
