Canadian Licensed Producer Will Publicize Cannabis Testing Data

A rash of recalls is hampering progress for several of Health Canada’s licensed producers over contaminated cannabis products. Aurora Cannabis Inc. recently announced a new disclosure process that involves its third-party quality control testing process. Every product they sell will come with a certificate of analysis from a third-party lab testing facility. The new protocol, they hope, will ease client fears by disclosing the purity of the products they buy.

Canadian licensed producers Organigram and Mettrum Health Corp. were recently issued recalls involving pesticide contaminants. Aurora itself was issued a recall after selling Organigram products to its customers. Health Canada, who approved each licensed producer, faced public backlash over consumer safety. Mettrum was acquired by Canopy Growth Corp., which is doing damage control and is now facing a proposed class action lawsuit from a Canadian law firm over Mettrum’s contaminated products.

“We have never used pesticides in our production, yet we have always tested all the products we sell for the presence of pesticides and other potential contaminants,” Aurora chief executive Terry Booth said in a press release. “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.”

Aurora is based in Cremona , Alberta, and has opened offices in Vancouver. All of Aurora’s products come complete with a Certificate of Analysis (CoA) that is provided by Anandia Labs, which is a laboratory testing facility that analyzes cannabis. The certificates are now available on Aurora’s website and mobile app. According to Anandia, the company tests for 51 pesticides, contaminants and bacteria.

The company now plans on updating Aurora’s online shop to place a certification link next to the image of each product. The new policy, they contend, will raise the bar for the rest of the cannabis sector in Canada, and dispel the fears surrounding product contamination.