Microbial Testing

We continue to see several conflations and misconceptions voiced in the discussion about microbial safety standards for cannabis products. The foundation for these misconceptions is the idea that [...]

A lab recently posted a study that questions qPCR’s ability to quantitate microbial contamination on cannabis. Although their intentions are good, we believe the authors’ conclusions are based on [...]

Note: This blog was originally posted in February 2019 and was updated in December 2020.  The Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) publishes microbiological and chemical standards [...]

In 2020, a Michigan lab contacted us claiming our CFU/cq calculations were not matching their samples, nor did they match a recently released Candida albicans NSI Total Yeast and Mold (TYM) [...]

Recently, the USP (United States Pharmacopoeia) published an article in the Journal of Natural Products titled, “Cannabis Inflorescence for Medical Purposes: USP Considerations for Quality [...]

Testing is a critical part of humanity’s fight against COVID-19, helping to allocate resources, make social distancing more effective, and provide helpful data for forecasting. Several giants in [...]

Cannabis testing labs are being presented with a wide variety of microbial testing solutions, each claiming they can shorten test times, increase sensitivity, and lower costs. Given microbial [...]

Culture-based methods, such as plating, are considered by some to be the “gold standard” of microbial safety testing. After all, the method is used extensively in the food industry and is [...]

One of the common objections to using qPCR for microbial testing is the fact that the method does not distinguish between live and dead DNA. PCR primers and probes will amplify any DNA in the [...]

Recently, some 450 cases of “vape pen” reported illnesses have allegedly contributed to six fatalities (NEJM). This health threat is serious, and tragic for its victims, but compared to the [...]

A previous version of draft guidelines for cannabis testing in Florida listed Clostridium botulinum as a target for microbial testing. On the surface, this seems like a prudent action. After all, [...]

Yes. Although Trichoderma presents no risk to cannabis consumers or patients, it is a fungus, and it will contribute to a Total Yeast and Mold count. Editor’s Note: It has been brought to [...]

  Our Senior Research and Development Scientist, Yvonne Helbert, recently spoke with Alex Beadle from Analytical Cannabis about why the PathoSEEK Microbial Safety Testing Platform is the [...]

The Boston Globe recently highlighted an important scientific debate ongoing in the Cannabis testing market of Massachusetts. Daniel Adams wrote this excellent piece on August 21st. On September [...]

In April of 2018, DigiPath Labs and Medicinal Genomics began a research program to better understand testing discordance with 3M TAC and TYM Petri-Films and PathoSEEK qPCR. Discordant samples [...]

A case of mistaken identity is causing a disagreement between two Alaska testing labs. According to a KTUU article, state regulators gave an edible marijuana product contaminated with mold to [...]

Our Science Team completed an extensive manufacturer’s validation, demonstrating our method for purifying DNA and detecting microbial contamination on cannabis flower, concentrates, and infused [...]

It’s been almost three years since we launched the PathogINDICAtor® qPCR Microbial Detection Platform. Since its inception, it has been the most accurate and advanced cannabis microbial safety [...]

It has been brought to our attention that some cannabis testing labs use methods for microbial detection that do not include an enrichment step. The news is concerning because enrichment is [...]

Last week, The Bureau of Cannabis Control released its long-awaited cannabis regulations. The document details the regulations for all aspects of the cannabis industry from cultivation to retail. [...]

Cannabis growers are divided when it comes to powdery mildew, one of the plant’s most notorious pathogens. In one camp, there are those who believe PM is a systemic pathogen that permeates via [...]

Botrytis Cinerea Botrytis is a systemic mold infection in Cannabis. This mold is often called “Bud Rot” or “grey mold”. It can remain cryptic or dormant for long periods of time before it [...]

On February 7, the Daily Mail reported a cancer patient in northern California died from a fungal infection that authorities suspect was caused by the inhalation of contaminated medical cannabis. [...]

The cannabis industry has a problem… Culture-based testing is the industry standard for detecting harmful microbes on cannabis flower, but the most widely used culture-based tests have [...]

Medicinal Genomics (MGC) is proud to announce it is partnering with a preliminary group of twelve leading cultivators and processors to develop fully-validated, genomics-based safety and quality [...]