Health Canada’s mission to maintain and improve Canadian health requires rigorous testing of cannabis legal products. Health Canada’s Cannabis Laboratory has already established a method for detecting fungal contaminants, or mycotoxins, in cannabis inflorescence. Since adult-use cannabis legalization in 2018, other cannabis products have been made available for Canadians. Additionally, other mycotoxins have been targeted as a potential contaminant of increasing concern.
To ensure product safety for Canadian consumers, the existing mycotoxin detection method of the Cannabis Laboratory of Health Canada was revisited. This new analytical method was developed to increase the number of testable cannabis product types and detectable mycotoxins. Costs associated with reagent use and analyst exposure time were significantly reduced. An overview of the specific modifications made to the method is summarized. Parameters such as extraction solvent composition, solvent to biomass ratio, injection volume, and mass spectrometry parameters have been fine-tuned for detections of Aspergillus-produced aflatoxins (G1, G2, B1, and B2) and Aspergillus- and Penicillium-produced ochratoxin A, as well as Fusarium-produced deoxynivalenol (DON).
Desaulniers Brousseau, Vincent & Bahl, Emmanuelle & Denkert, Ryan & Lefsrud, Mark. (2022). Fungal Contamination Monitoring in Legal Cannabis Products: Optimization of Detection and Quantification Method for Mycotoxins in Cannabis Inflorescence and Edible Oil Using UHPLC- MS/MS.
To read the complete article, go to www.researchgate.net
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