Journal Published Online: 29 July 2024
Volume 52, Issue 6

Fungal Contamination Monitoring in Legal Cannabis Using Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

CODEN: JTEVAB

Abstract

Health Canada’s mission to help the people of Canada maintain and improve their health requires rigorous testing of cannabis legal products. The contaminants of cannabis products need to meet the requirements set out in the Cannabis Act and Regulations. Mycotoxins are known cannabis contaminants. They are secondary metabolites produced by fungi that, when exposed to humans, can cause serious health issues. Numerous fungal species have been detected on cannabis, notably, the toxigenic Aspergillus spp, Penicillium spp, and Fusarium spp. These fungal species produce aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, and deoxynivalenol, respectively. To ensure product safety for Canadian consumers, a detection and quantification ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method was devised for these mycotoxins. Contrary to other published methods, the present method does not require either costly immunoaffinity columns or isotope-labeled internal standards. The method was validated on multiple samples of cannabis plants. It was shown that accurate quantification in plant samples requires a standard addition curve. Limits of detection and quantification were sufficient for regulatory and monitoring purposes. This method could decrease compliance-related costs for the legal cannabis industry.

Author Information

Brousseau, Vincent Desaulniers
Cannabis Laboratory, Regulatory Operations and Enforcement Branch, Health Canada, Longueuil, QC, Canada Department of Bioresource Engineering, Biomass Production Laboratory, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada
Bahl, Emmanuelle
Cannabis Laboratory, Regulatory Operations and Enforcement Branch, Health Canada, Longueuil, QC, Canada
Lacroix-Labonté, Julie
Cannabis Laboratory, Regulatory Operations and Enforcement Branch, Health Canada, Longueuil, QC, Canada
Robichaud, André
Cannabis Laboratory, Regulatory Operations and Enforcement Branch, Health Canada, Longueuil, QC, Canada
Lefsrud, Mark
Department of Bioresource Engineering, Biomass Production Laboratory, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada
Pages: 12
Price: $25.00
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Stock #: JTE20230559
ISSN: 0090-3973
DOI: 10.1520/JTE20230559