Industry News: Complete Cannabis Testing Solutions for the Canadian Market from a Single Source

With the updates to Canada's cannabis laws set for implementation in October 2018, scientists operating within this highly regulated, growing market can now access an end-to-end analytical solution that aligns with the testing standards set by Health Canada.

Thermo Fisher Scientific is supporting regulatory laboratories, contract research organizations and licensed dealers, producers and suppliers across this emerging sector with a diverse and comprehensive product portfolio that offers complete workflows, from sample preparation to analytical methods, for the analysis of cannabis matrices to the testing standards set by Health Canada. Thermo Fisher will showcase its consumables, instruments and software that form these workflows at Grow Up Conference and Expo 2018, on September 7–8, at booth #311, Scotiabank Convention Centre, Niagara Falls, ON, Canada.

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“Thermo Fisher Scientific is supporting solutions for compliance with cannabis testing regulations in Canada by providing complete workflows and technologies to equip and supply licensed Canadian analytical labs with everything they need to start or scale laboratory operations and produce reliable results,” said Dan Shine, president, analytical instruments, Thermo Fisher. “The workflows will enable the end-user to collect data, proof statements and application notes leveraged from key private, fully-licensed laboratories in Canada that are focused on development, validation, accreditation and sample preparation.”

“We believe that, ultimately, the goal of government safety standards and the licensed producer community is to ensure Canadian cannabis products are free from potentially dangerous contaminants,” said Randy Rowe, President of Grow Up Conference and Expo. “By adopting proven technologies and approaches from other industries like the food testing arena, Canada's emerging cannabis industry has a path forward and the tools to confirm that every sample analyzed meets regulated safety standards and is suitable for the Canadian cannabis market.”

The scope of Thermo Fisher’s cannabis workflows allows scientists to not only perform tests for tetrahydrocannabinol content, microbial contaminants and disintegration, but also cannabinoid profiling, nutritional information and water. Thermo Fisher’s cannabis testing solutions can be enhanced when combined with cloud-connected laboratory information management system (LIMS), which support information management and regulatory compliance across small, growing and established operations.

In addition to the Grow Up Conference and Expo, Thermo Fisher will host a complimentary educational “Cannabis Testing One-Stop Analytical Solutions Seminar Series” across Canada, October 9-18, with the first seminar in Vancouver (Four Points by Sheraton Vancouver Airport). The seminar series will provide information to scientists establishing new cannabis testing laboratory or scaling-up operations. Each seminar will cover:

• Health Canada regulation updates
• Targeted and non-targeted pesticide analysis
• Sample preparation tips for improving results
• Fast and accurate heavy metal analysis to ppb levels
• Rapid mycotoxin analysis
• Cannabis potency testing
• Analytical software and cloud LIMS solutions