Articles
Assessing the use of an alternative solution for the microbial decontamination of Cannabis production facilities
Article number
1396_12
Pages
81 – 90
Language
English
Abstract
Cannabis sativa is susceptible to contamination by harmful pathogens, from cultivation and harvest, to distribution.
Many of these pathogens pose a risk to consumer health in the form of diseases such as mild allergies, to potentially life-threatening opportunistic infections in the immunocompromised host.
In addition, disease in the plant often leads to product of low quality and yield, resulting in significant financial losses for the Cannabis producer.
The use of hazardous pesticides also poses a further threat to human health.
The objectives of this study were to assess the levels of contamination within Cannabis cultivating facilities, while evaluating the efficacy of a commercially manufactured solution of electrolyzed amino acids and salts, as a potential disinfectant.
Environmental swabbing was performed at multiple sites within a Cannabis processing facility at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Department of Life Sciences in Kingston, Jamaica, and the cultivator, processor and distributor, Sugar Top Buddery (STB) in Oregon, USA. At each facility, six surfaces were swabbed before and after cleaning with a neat concentration of the commercial solution.
Swab samples were transported to the PathogenDx laboratory (Arizona, USA) and processed through the Envirox molecular testing platform, which utilizes the Microarray DNA identification technique to detect various microbial species.
Bacterial contamination levels of 13.3 and 11.7% were reported for the UWI and STB facilities, respectively, in relation to the 10 specific bacterial targets tested for.
Against the 18 specific fungal targets tested for, 2.8% overall fungal contamination was reported at STB. No specific fungal probes were detected at the University of the West Indies.
Of these, the decontamination effectivity rates were 77.8 and 66.7% against bacterial and fungi, respectively, for the study facilities collectively.
These results highlight the need to establish recommendations for environmental monitoring, to fulfil quality and safety standards for Cannabis production.
Many of these pathogens pose a risk to consumer health in the form of diseases such as mild allergies, to potentially life-threatening opportunistic infections in the immunocompromised host.
In addition, disease in the plant often leads to product of low quality and yield, resulting in significant financial losses for the Cannabis producer.
The use of hazardous pesticides also poses a further threat to human health.
The objectives of this study were to assess the levels of contamination within Cannabis cultivating facilities, while evaluating the efficacy of a commercially manufactured solution of electrolyzed amino acids and salts, as a potential disinfectant.
Environmental swabbing was performed at multiple sites within a Cannabis processing facility at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Department of Life Sciences in Kingston, Jamaica, and the cultivator, processor and distributor, Sugar Top Buddery (STB) in Oregon, USA. At each facility, six surfaces were swabbed before and after cleaning with a neat concentration of the commercial solution.
Swab samples were transported to the PathogenDx laboratory (Arizona, USA) and processed through the Envirox molecular testing platform, which utilizes the Microarray DNA identification technique to detect various microbial species.
Bacterial contamination levels of 13.3 and 11.7% were reported for the UWI and STB facilities, respectively, in relation to the 10 specific bacterial targets tested for.
Against the 18 specific fungal targets tested for, 2.8% overall fungal contamination was reported at STB. No specific fungal probes were detected at the University of the West Indies.
Of these, the decontamination effectivity rates were 77.8 and 66.7% against bacterial and fungi, respectively, for the study facilities collectively.
These results highlight the need to establish recommendations for environmental monitoring, to fulfil quality and safety standards for Cannabis production.
Authors
C. Ozongwu, A. Kaplan, M. McGowan, E. Lachance, A. Rueda, A. Howard, M. Emanuel, J. Lindo
Keywords
cannabis production, disinfection, microbial decontamination, product safety
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