One week after the state recalled a handful of cannabis products for failing mold and yeast tests, it remains unclear how the contaminated products made it to the market. 

The recall, announced last week, impacts one strain of cannabis flower and three strains of pre-rolls, all of which were produced by Cannabis Cured, a cultivator and retailer headquartered in Fairfield. It was the state’s first cannabis recall since the market launched four years ago.

Maine’s recreational cannabis is required to be tested, and Cannabis Cured maintains that the samples passed an initial round of testing.

“Before anything is placed on a shelf at Cannabis Cured, every item must have successfully met all of Maine’s rigorous quality and safety standards,” the company said in a statement on its website. “During a subsequent audit test conducted by the state, a portion of the products that they tested continued to meet state standards, while a portion did not.”

The company said all tainted products were immediately removed from shelves.

“Cannabis Cured puts safety and product quality above all else,” it said, adding that customers who bought the contaminated product could seek a refund or replacement at any of the company’s recreational locations.

Cannabis Cured declined to answer any other questions about the recall until it has completed “a thorough due diligence process and review,” but it did not say when that might be.

STATE SAYS LAB NOT AT FAULT 

John Hudak, director of the Office of Cannabis Policy, said there was a “knee-jerk reaction” after the announcement to place the blame on the testing facility.

But Hudak was clear that “the issues did not exist within the cannabis testing facilities” and none of the state’s four labs is under investigation.

He defended the labs in a notice sent to industry members Friday.

“This recall was not necessitated by any misconduct by any cannabis testing facility operating in the state, nor any concerns regarding the methods, technology, processes or procedures used by these testing facilities,” Hudak wrote, adding that he has no concerns about the integrity of any of the labs. 

Hudak would not say which lab tested the cannabis samples, citing an ongoing investigation.

The recall applies to 1-gram pre-rolls and packs of five pre-rolls of the strain GG4 sold between Aug. 27 and Sept. 9; 1/8-ounce packages of flower and 1-gram pre-rolls of a strain called Jelly Donutz, which were sold from Aug. 28 to Sept. 9; and five pre-roll packs of the strain Portal, sold from Aug. 28 to Sept. 3, the Office of Cannabis Policy said in its statement.

Inhaling cannabis containing unsafe levels of mold can lead to sinus issues, allergies, headaches, dizziness or fatigue,” the office said in the statement. “Any consumer who has ingested these products and is experiencing symptoms or adverse reactions should contact their physician immediately.”

HOW TESTING WORKS 

Not every cannabis product on a store’s shelf has been individually tested. Rather, cultivators and manufacturers are required to submit “representative” samples of each batch. Sample sizes vary based on product and batch size and must be taken from multiple parts of the product. For cannabis flower, pre-roll and trim, for example, sample sizes range from 6.5 grams for a 2.5 kilogram batch and up to 22 grams for a 10 kilogram batch.

A contaminated batch hitting the market doesn’t automatically mean nefarious activity, Hudak said. 

“This typically happens when there’s improper sample selection collection from the batches that are produced,” Hudak said.

This can happen accidentally because of improper training or intentionally, by not selecting a truly representative sample. 

Hudak would not speculate on what happened in the case with Cannabis Cured, but he praised the “robust” testing and tracking system that raised a red flag. 

It’s not the first time an issue has been caught, he said, but it is the first time the product had already been stocked on shelves and sold to consumers.

Yeast and mold are the most common contaminants that cause a sample to fail a test, according to Chris Altomare, founder and CEO of Portland-based Nova Analytics, one of the four licensed testing labs in the state. Altomare declined to say whether Nova Analytics tested the recalled product, citing confidentiality.

Maine requires recreational cannabis be tested for filth and foreign materials, mold and mildew, harmful microbes, potency, homogeneity and cannabinoid profiles, moisture content, heavy metals, residual solvents, and pesticides. The state does not require medical cannabis to be tested.

Mold is the most difficult test to pass, Altomare said.

“It’s easy not to fail for pesticides – you just don’t use pesticides,” he said. “Mold is just a really prevalent thing. It’s hard to control.”

MAKING IMPROVEMENTS 

The failure threshold for yeast or mold contamination is 10,000 colony-forming units per gram.

Employees at Nova Analytics are trying to identify which microbes are most commonly found in samples that fail the required tests and whether they’re all harmful.

The goal, Altomare said, is to help the state improve its yeast and mold regulations.

Hudak, though, said the state’s standard is solid. It’s used by many other states and is the threshold recommended by the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, he said.

“I’m always interested in new research and new data,” he said, but “what I don’t want is for yeast and mold (regulations) to be driven by business decisions rather than the health and safety of consumers.”

Hudak said the office will review what happened both internally and externally to learn what it might need to do better or how the office can help prevent another recall. 

However, he added, it’s important not to overreact. 

“One recall is four years is a pretty good track record,” Hudak said. “I don’t think that upending the way that samples are collected is likely necessitated here.” 

The contaminated product was sold at Cannabis Cured’s adult-use retail locations in Bangor, Carrabassett Valley, Damariscotta, Eliot, Fairfield, Stratton and Thomaston, the office said in its statement. The company’s Portland location was not listed.

Hudak said the tracking system only records “from seed to sale,” so it wasn’t clear how much product has been returned. Cannabis Cured and Sweet Relief are keeping track of that information and will share it with the state, he said, adding that any of the contaminated product on the shelf that wasn’t sold has been accounted for and “destroyed.”

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