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Authorized Canadian producer Redecan is suffering from a serious public relations problem after online reports have accused the company of selling moldy cannabis and cannabis containing insects through Ontario Cannabis. Store.
Redecan weed photos published on Reddit stated that the product contained mold, insects and burrows. On Thursday, the company issued a voluntary recall of the cannabis batch for which it had received five complaints. However, Redecan also stated "visually inspect the lot samples of this lot … and found no evidence of mold in these samples". In another statement, the disc says "There are no dead bugs in the RedeCan product. The insects did not dig any holes in the holes. The company went on to claim that the black dots in the photos were not insects, but "non-volatile, harmless organic materials (protein carbohydrates)". Later, the master LP producer, Rick Redecop told CityNews that she was using a mite called persimilis to ward off mites, as part of her organic farming process. "At a microscopic level, it's possible that it's on our product," said Redecop.
This is an explanation that Travis Lane, a long-time producer from British Columbia, does not buy.
"If you make such a mistake and you have material evidence, do not lie about it," said VICE Lane, founding director of the BC Independent Cannabis Association, who defends the interests of artisbad producers. "The fact that they remembered clearly shows that there is a problem."
Lane, who also runs a consulting company specializing in growing organic weeds, said that he did not consider that the problem of mold posed a health risk, but the quality of the consumer.
He said cannabis is susceptible to mold and is common "when things are not done properly".
Lane said that the two most common mold types with weeds are powdery mildew, a light powdery coating that starts on the leaves and rarely extends to pimples and botrytis (rot of pimples). Botrytis "rots the bud from within" and could completely destroy the crop, Lane said, noting that the black market weed posed the same problems.
He said that two of the key factors in mold prevention control moisture levels and the movement of air around plants. But it can be a lot harder in a 100,000 square foot room, he said, or in a greenhouse that was renovated for weed, but was previously used for a different crop.
"You have this huge space and you try to regulate as many plants. Something can happen in one part of the room and it can move, "he said.
Ronan Levy, Strategy Manager at Trait Biosciences, a biotechnology research company, told VICE that he thought mold was a big problem, both from a health and safety standpoint and from a health and safety standpoint. commercial point of view.
"Obviously, because you grow it on a large scale, there are more plants, more people, more movement. A small mold problem in development, it spreads very quickly. "
Levy, who co-founded the Canadian Cannabis Clinics, which links the medical cannabis program in Canada, is concerned about people with compromised immune systems, such as cancer, who consume a product containing mold.
Under Health Canada regulations, 22 registered pesticides can be used. (Organigram, Hydropothecary, Aurora and Mettrum have all been found to have used banned pesticides in the past.)
Levy added that vinyl records must limit the amount of pesticides on the product before consumption, which usually means early application. But he added that more and more producers are applying pesticides later in the growth process, which means there are more residues in the final product.
Trait is currently developing a technology that will use naturally occurring bacteria in cannabis plants to create small molecules of ribonucleic acid to block the growth of molds and viruses.
"What's happening is that you do not need to apply pesticides at all to block the development of these diseases," he said, pointing out that the technology would likely to be marketed in one or two years.
Lane explained to VICE LP that the mold insurance tests in the plant were satisfactory. It encourages Health Canada to adopt a cannabis-specific quality control test and to identify all weed-specific pathogens.
VICE has sought the advice of Redecan and is waiting for the response from the company.
In a statement, the Ontario Cannabis Store said it was taking action to address mold issues with Redecan. He offered to give customers refunds. The OCS also advised customers with product complaints to contact Health Canada directly and service partners.
Follow Manisha Krishnan on Twitter.
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