Last week, the Maine Office of Cannabis issued a first-ever recall of cannabis products by Cannabis Cured that failed to pass audit yeast and mold testing by the Office, following an investigation into irregular mandatory test results reported to OCP.
"This recall, the first issued by the Office since the launch of the Adult Use Cannabis Program in 2020, was made possible due to the testing and tracking requirements of the program and the Office's commitment to ongoing rigorous review of mandatory test results. Because of the work of OCP's chemist, the Office was able to quickly identify the testing irregularity and begin its investigation, including taking and testing samples from affected batches. The detailed information contained in the State's cannabis inventory tracking system allowed OCP to put an administrative hold on items during the pendency of its investigation and ensure that the recall is narrowly tailored to target only those items that include contaminated cannabis," the Office stated in a press release.
"The state of Maine has a mandatory and thorough testing process for all adult-use recreational cannabis products," Cannabis Cured stated on their website." Before anything is placed on a shelf at Cannabis Cured, every item must have successfully met all of Maine's rigorous quality and safety standards. All of the recently recalled products had a certificate of analysis showing that standards had been met. During a subsequent audit test conducted by the state, a portion of the products that they tested continued to meet state standards, while a portion did not. When the state informed us of the new test results, prior to the state issuing a recall notice, we immediately removed these products from stores and stopped sales and initiated a voluntary recall."
"This recall was not necessitated by any misconduct by any cannabis testing facility operating in the state, nor any concerns regarding the methods, technology, processes or procedures used by these testing facilities," said John Hudak, director of the Office of Cannabis Policy, the Press Herald reports.
"One recall is four years is a pretty good track record," Hudak said. "I don't think that upending the way that samples are collected is likely necessitated here."