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An Alberta-based cannabis beverage company is calling on Health Canada to do more to address what they say are flaws in potency testing for cannabis products, especially beverages, which are leading to inaccurate THC levels.
Citing internal testing confirmed by third parties that revealed a significant variance between labelled THC levels and actual THC levels in a number of cannabis beverages in Canada, Callum Hanton, CEO of Bubble Bud Inc., the company behind Zéle Beverages, says these products put consumers and the integrity of the legal market at risk.
“The lack of accurate, standardized testing protocols for cannabis beverages is allowing products with THC levels an average of 41% above legal limits to flood the market,” said Hanton, in a press release.
“Some beverages were tested to be overdosed by over 71%. Not only does this compromise product consistency and market integrity, it also exposes consumers to serious health risks from unknowing overconsumption.”
According to a study published by cannabis testing lab Agilent Technologies, part of the challenge with creating accurate and reproducible testing of cannabinoid concentrations in cannabis beverages is because of the use of nano-emulsions to dissolve cannabinoids.
This could potentially lead to inaccurate internal testing results for these types of beverages in their formulation stage, which could lead to more cannabinoids being added to the products. It’s noteworthy that some of the cannabis products tested by Hanton’s team were around a year old.
Callum says he wants to see Health Canada do more to validate methodologies used by different cannabis testing labs to ensure that the products consumers buy are what they think they are buying. While many beverages had much higher levels of THC than advertised, some were also well below advertised amounts.
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Edmonton cannabis beverages company calls for more accurate testing
