Florida’s fledgling hemp industry has a mystery to solve, faced with a puzzling new finding concerning products sold in the state. That’s according to findings discussed Tuesday by state hemp czar Holly Bell, who says she wants to work with the industry to find out why elevated lead levels are showing up in some products on shelves.
“We have found many products we have found to have very high concentrations of lead,” Bell said.
“Where we’re finding it is in random samples that have already been bottled, that we pull from retail locations in the state of Florida. The RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) limit for lead, for consumer consumption is 5.5 (parts per billion) – and we’re finding findings that range from 6.5 up to as high as 18.5 (parts per billion),” Bell said.
Bell, who serves as the state’s first director of cannabis under the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, spoke during a meeting of the state Hemp Advisory Committee. She says the issue has the attention of multiple federal agencies.
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