Aurora Cannabis, a Canadian licensed medical cannabis producer, is expected to unveil a strict consumer safety regime and is urging the 14 other members of the Cannabis Canada Association to consider adopting similar plans, according to a Globe and Mail report. The program goes beyond Health Canada requirements, using federally-accredited Anandia Labs Inc. to test for molds, bacteria, heavy metals, aflatoxins, and 51 pesticides. Aurora will make the test results publicly available.
Terry Booth, Aurora chief executive, said it is “imperative that patients have confidence in the safety of the products they consume and in the integrity of the medical cannabis system.”
“We believe our testing disclosure process will raise the bar for the entire sector, and offer a model for other companies to follow,” he said in the report.
Last summer, several recalls were issued after the banned pesticide myclobutanil was discovered in products sold by two licensed operators. A previous report by the Globe and Mail found that Health Canada was not requiring the testing of banned pesticides; the agency stated that producers should know the products are banned and therefore shouldn’t be using them. Following the report, Health Canada announced they would be adding testing conditions to the testing licenses of the two companies and would begin random spot checks on the rest of the industry.