Microbial Testing

Microorganisms found in cannabis flower and cannabis products have the potential to be harmful to patients when consumed or inhaled. In most states, pathogenic organisms such as Aspergillus spp., E. coli, Salmonella spp., and fungal biproducts called mycotoxins are deemed necessary to test. 

In addition to pathogenic microorganisms and their biproducts, the medical cannabis, pharmaceutical, and food industries utilize indicator organisms to monitor hygienic conditions during the production process.The presence of specific bacteria (Total Viable Aerobic Bacteria, Total Coliforms, and/or Bile-tolerant Gram-Negative Bacteria) and/or total yeasts or molds over set limits is an indicator of poor hygiene and potential microbiological contamination.

Here at Spectra Analytical Lab, we test for the following microbial organisms set by HDOH utilizing a fully-automated quality indicator testing system for enumeration of quality indictor organisms, traditional plating, and a microarray hybridization test:

• Total Viable Aerobic Bacteria
  
• Bile-tolerant Gram-Negative Bacteria
  
• Total Coliforms
  
• Total Yeast and Mold
• Pathogenic E. coli
• Salmonella species
• Aspergillus flavus
• Aspergillus fumigatus
• Aspergillus niger