In recent years, some cannabis cultivators in states where remediation is legal have implemented a 100% remediation strategy wherein all crops are remediated – always. The goal is to ensure every plant passes contaminant testing. However, remediation shouldn’t be a blanket fix for potential contamination. A better strategy is to prevent contamination thereby reducing the need for and expense of 100% remediation.

The truth is we don’t entirely know how remediation affects cannabis. Currently, remediation is considered to be safe by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for several food crops, but there is little data available for cannabis plants.

While the information we have today seems to show that remediation through common methods like gamma-irradiation doesn’t make cannabis unsafe for human consumption, there is also scientific evidence showing that remediation affects the volatile terpenes in cannabis plants.

A 2016 study, Evaluating the Effects of Gamma-Irradiation for Decontamination of Medicinal Cannabis, found that gamma-irradiation resulted in “a reduction of some terpenes present in the cannabis.”

In fact, the study found “irradiation had a measurable effect on the content of multiple cannabis terpenes, mainly on the more volatile terpenes. Reduction of affected terpenes was in general between 10 and 20%, but for some components, this may be as much as 38%.”

In an industry where terpenes matter more to consumers every day, a 10-38% reduction is significant. For bio365 customers who choose our media in part to increase terpenes, remediation reverses some of the benefits that the cultivator wants.

Reduce the Need for Remediation with Improved Quality Control

Of course, remediation has its place to ensure consumers receive safe cannabis products, but again, it shouldn’t be a blanket fix. First, it’s too expensive to remediate every plant, and second, prevention is a better solution.

The team at bio365 helps our customers develop quality control systems all the time. In general, there are seven main contamination points that indoor cultivators’ systems need to address:

1. People (and Animals)

You need to have a good decontamination protocol and a system in place that monitors who you let into your grow rooms from outside each day. This includes employees, vendors, visitors, and anyone else who accesses any area of your facility, because contaminants can enter your grow rooms from any person or animal.

2. Tools and Equipment

Moving tools and equipment from one room to another is a common source of contamination. All movements within your facility should be tracked, including tools and equipment. Make sure you have a set of tools and equipment for each room, and no set should ever leave its assigned grow room.

3. Growing Media, Amendments, and Other Inputs

All of the growing media and inputs you bring into your facility can introduce contaminants. Therefore, start with clean growing media and inputs from top quality suppliers – those you’ve researched and vetted for transparency and consistency.

4. Containers

If you grow in any type of container, rather than the grow bags media comes in, then you need to thoroughly clean the containers before you use them again. You need to have the world’s best sanitizing process, or you should assume the containers aren’t 100% free of contaminants after you clean them.

5. HVAC System

Contaminants can easily find their way throughout your facility through your HVAC system. Anything that blows the invisible contaminants in the air around your grow rooms and into your HVAC system should be isolated so rooms aren’t linked together.

6. Planting Materials

Did you know the top source of contamination in cannabis cultivation are the materials used to grow your plants that come from outside your facility? This includes seeds, tissue cultures, germplasm, and so on. Always quarantine all planting materials for at least 30 days before you bring them into your grow rooms!

7. Outside the Cultivation Facility (Including Disposed Materials)

Exterior environmental contaminants can get into your facility if your doors, walls, and windows aren’t fully sealed. At bio365, we triple seal walls when an exterior threat is identified. People can also track in contaminants from outside your facility, so it’s critical to control outside threats before they become a problem. Address materials that you dispose outside as well. An old root ball left outside could quickly attract pests and pathogens that can easily get into your facility.

Your Growing Media Can Make a Difference

At bio365, we’re not saying remediation is good or bad, but we do know that if you’re using bio365 growing media, you’ll most likely end up with higher terpene expression. Therefore, if you remediate and lose a percentage of those terpenes, you’ll still end up with more terpenes than if you used a different media.

bio365 blog

How to Minimize the Need for Remediation in Cannabis Cultivation