Mycotoxin Screening
Mycotoxins are neuro-toxic, and if consumed by anyone with a weakened immune system, they can be deadly. Cannabis and hemp can be contaminated with mycotoxins during processing, manufacture, transportation, or even during storage. Hence, this screen is integral to prove the safety of any hemp crop or final product.
What are Mycotoxins?
Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins found in molds and fungi. They can be found on many food crops like grains, nuts, fruit and, of course, in cannabis and hemp crops—especially under warm and humid conditions which are conducive to microbial growth. Ingestion or inhaling by humans can cause great harm to human health including nausea, vomiting, or death.
We Test for 5 Harmful Mycotoxins:
Aflatoxins form one of the major groups of mycotoxins. Aflatoxin B1 is a poisonous carcinogen and mutagen produced by the molds Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus which grow in soil, decaying vegetation, hay, and grains. Aflatoxins can colonize and contaminate cannabis and hemp plants before harvest or be found in improperly stored final products. Children are particularly affected by aflatoxin exposure, which is associated with stunted growth, delayed development, liver damage, and liver cancer.
Aflatoxins form one of the major groups of mycotoxins. Aflatoxin B2 is a poisonous carcinogen and mutagen produced by the molds Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus which grow in soil, decaying vegetation, hay, and grains. Aflatoxins can colonize and contaminate cannabis and hemp plants before harvest or be found in improperly stored final products. Children are particularly affected by aflatoxin exposure, which is associated with stunted growth, delayed development, liver damage, and liver cancer.
Aflatoxins form one of the major groups of mycotoxins. Aflatoxin G1 is a poisonous carcinogen and mutagen produced by the molds Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus which grow in soil, decaying vegetation, hay, and grains. Aflatoxins can colonize and contaminate cannabis and hemp plants before harvest or be found in improperly stored final products. Children are particularly affected by aflatoxin exposure, which is associated with stunted growth, delayed development, liver damage, and liver cancer.n colonize and contaminate cannabis and hemp plants before harvest or be found in improperly stored final products. Children are particularly affected by aflatoxin exposure, which is associated with stunted growth, delayed development, liver damage, and liver cancer.
Aflatoxins form one of the major groups of mycotoxins. Aflatoxin G2 is a poisonous carcinogen and mutagen produced by the molds Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus which grow in soil, decaying vegetation, hay, and grains. Aflatoxins can colonize and contaminate cannabis and hemp plants before harvest or be found in improperly stored final products. Children are particularly affected by aflatoxin exposure, which is associated with stunted growth, delayed development, liver damage, and liver cancer.
Ochratoxin A is a naturally occurring foodborne mycotoxin found in a wide variety of agricultural commodities worldwide, ranging from cereal grains to dried fruits, wine, coffee—and cannabis and hemp products. It is produced by several different fungi including Aspergillus ochraceus, Aspergillus carbonarius, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium verrucosum. Ochratoxin A is potentially carcinogenic to humans, neurotoxic, and has been shown to be weakly mutagenic.
HOW DO WE TEST?
We test mycotoxins using LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry).