Heavy Metals in Cannabis Method Approved by AOAC INTERNATIONAL

CEM Corporation is pleased to announce AOAC INTERNATIONAL’s approval of the analytical method, “Heavy Metals in a Variety of Cannabis and Cannabis-Derived Products,” used for the analysis of toxic metals in cannabis and cannabis-containing products.

This First Action AOAC Official Method status represents a large step forward in cannabis testing. The method, OMA 2021.03, uses high throughput microwave digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to solubilize and analyze arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and other elements in cannabis products, including edibles, health and beauty products, and cannabis or hemp supplements.

The new method was rigorously reviewed by a panel of analytical science experts and is the first method approved by AOAC for heavy metals in cannabis. The accuracy and precision of the ICP-MS-based method met the AOAC Standard Method Performance Requirements for Determination of Heavy Metals in a Variety of Cannabis and Cannabis-Derived Products (SMPR 2020.001) for all elements of interest. OMA 2021.03 was developed to help cannabis labs determine total heavy metal content in their cannabis samples with simple and high throughput sample digestion and analysis instrumentation.

“The cannabis industry is still in its infancy and looks to experts in the fields of sample preparation and analysis to accurately determine contaminants in their products. CEM is proud to have combined efforts with our colleagues at Agilent to further the development of official methodology that will guide legislation and help cannabis labs."

About CEM

CEM Corporation, a private company based in Matthews, North Carolina, is a leading provider of laboratory instrumentation. The Company has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Germany, Italy, France, and Japan, as well as a global network of distributors. CEM designs and manufactures systems for life sciences, analytical laboratories and processing plants worldwide. The Company’s products are used in many industries including pharmaceutical, biotech, chemical and food processing, as well as academic research.