Producing Safe and Quality Hemp Products: Summary of Findings Presented to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Conference, June 28,2021
By Dr. Joseph Dzisam
On June 28, 2021, United Natural Hemp Extracts presented results of heavy metals testing on our final products - showing that heavy metals in our post-extraction hemp are less than 1 parts per billion (ppb). This is critical for ensuring consumer CBD products do not contain dangerous contaminants that pose significant health risks.
UNHE extracts hemp aerial flowers to produce crude, distillate, and blends of distillates with terpenes for specific effects (customized products for calmness, focus, and sleep/relaxation). We also provide customized instant water-soluble CBD powders from food-grade gum arabica encapsulation processes.
To ensure the quality and safety of our products, we have a rigorous testing regime for the soil, water, and raw material (hemp biomass). Before planting, we ensure that growers adhere to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), including the testing of soil samples for heavy metals and pesticides. After planting and harvesting the hemp, we do further testing for heavy metals, pesticides, mycotoxins, bioburden, moisture as well as cannabinoid profiles. For us, these steps are our Critical Control Point (CCP) in our Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) risk assessment.
We also do all of the above testing post extraction processing (i.e., distillation and crystallization) as well as on residual solvents. So far, we have gathered enough data on all the test results from the soil through the final products (crude and distillates) to ensure that heavy metals are below 1 ppb and therefore do not contain a significant health risk in terms of heavy metal.