With cannabis lab testing becoming more rigorous, it’s more important than ever that cannabis companies operate in clean, professionally disinfected growing facilities. And while there are many mold remediation companies, few have developed a process that can be used safely around hemp. Fortunately, there is one company—Canna Klean & Remediation—that fulfills this need.
Based in Massachusetts, Clin was the treatment Hemp farming practices combine with commercial decontamination and processing techniques so growers can count on a healthy crop. Flower remains the first category to positively impact cannabis organizations’ bottom lines. Without consistent data collection and best practices to ensure a clean environment, cannabis operators will fall victim to invisible enemies that threaten their ability to sell the flower they have worked so hard to produce. Once consistent flower failures occur, there is a ripple effect downstream that causes the company’s bottom line to start bleeding. Figuring out the source and root cause of a cannabis flower failing laboratory tests, and working to properly sanitize the problem, prevents erosion of the bottom line of the cannabis operation.
Canna Klean & Remediation can help your facility identify and eliminate the issues that cause your facility to fail lab tests. They use hemp-compliant methods and chemistry, and custom-designed negative air containment solutions, to safely disinfect cultivation facilities with minimal interruption to staff and production.
Now, let’s dive into how this process works and why sanitizing cannabis facilities is critical to success.
Treat the cause, not the symptoms
The consistent failure of flower lab tests will make or break companies that learn to navigate the highly competitive market into which the cannabis industry has evolved. Growing cannabis within a “sick” environment is not safe for both the end user and people working within the infected building.
To combat repeated lab test failures, many cannabis companies are turning to flower and product processing techniques to pass lab tests to market their failed products. Widely used floral and product processing techniques are short-term solutions to a long-term facility problem that will continue to worsen over time. Finding out the source and root cause of the contamination is the only way to completely eradicate the problem rather than using a Band-Aid solution like “cleaning” the flower with remediation techniques.
Pollution mapping
Recurrent flower failure is a key indicator of a process contamination problem or a recurring facility contamination problem. Understanding the Certificate of Analysis (COA) and realizing that flower is the number one indicator of recurring problems sets the cannabis organization on the path to success. Common lab data will allow farmers to see the rise or fall in levels of bacteria, microbes, fungi, yeast, molds and coliforms that are contaminating their crops.
The use of scientific methods to map the contamination, identify the source of the problem, and identify areas within the facility that harbor pathogens directs the facility to a targeted approach to eliminate the source of pollution. Sick environments can occur even in the cleanest modern facilities.
If the facility does not discover and eliminate the source of the contamination, the source will continue to thrive and multiply at an astonishing rate.
Hemp growing facilities create an ideal environment for bacteria, mold, and microbes to perpetuate themselves using common food sources such as plant materials, growth media, and many types of building materials. Food sources are constantly exposed to excessive moisture levels due to plant transpiration and evapotranspiration, temperature fluctuations, foliar applications, and high levels of airflow. This creates a perfect storm and rapid colony perpetuation within an indoor cultivation facility. Mold, bacteria, and microbes are invisible enemies that even the cleanest facilities fail to eradicate without professional help.
The importance of understanding the levels of bacteria, microbes, fungi, yeast, mold, and coliforms within a cultivation facility can mean the difference in getting 85-90% of all flower batches produced to market versus getting only 15-20% of all batches to market.
Matt Yarose, COO of Canna Klean & Remediation, has been growing cannabis for 20 years, including three years as a master grower at MSO. He understands the many ways a facility can contaminate its crops and cause lab tests to fail. Distinguishing between a process contamination problem and a building contamination problem is the first step in solving the problem.
Iarussi uses his knowledge of cannabis cultivation to help facilities guide and understand lab test data while reviewing plant, dry processing, processing and sanitation SOPs to assess them for contamination issues.
“Sometimes a facility contaminates the flower with a part of their operation that gets overlooked. Often times a poor sanitation practice is used as best practice that causes the flower to become polluted. Another great example is improperly designed dry rooms with undersized HVAC/dehumidification systems creating a breeding ground for microbial contamination,” says Iarussi. “When the average moisture level of the harvested biomass exceeds the load limits of the HVAC/dehumidification system, excess moisture remaining in the environment will become a problem, and the crop will not dry out at the correct rate. To add to this problem, many facilities do not measure the water activity (WA) of the flower throughout Dehydration and curing process. When WA is kept at too high a range level due to excess moisture in the environment, mold and microbe colonies grow on the flower and cause the product to fail lab tests.”
Backed by science
Canna Klean & Remediation begins its pollution mapping process by bringing 3Research and development Unbiased Certified Industrial Hygienists (CIH) for biologically established evaluation. A report is generated by the CIH team to document species and contamination sites. Canna Klean & Remediation works alongside the CIH team to design a targeted approach to facility disinfection using a patent-pending 4-step process. Common problems can be found behind walls where mold and microbial colonies have taken over on poorly selected substrates, ceilings where roof leaks have not been addressed where moisture feeds colonies, HVAC systems with no preventative maintenance cleaning plan, and irrigation systems that are not properly cleaned. And full of bacteria, contaminated growing media and perpetuating problems throughout flower rooms, etc.
Once a facility begins biological evaluation of areas that tested positive for contaminants, light is shed on the root cause contributing to the flower not making it to market. Many utilities chase their tails and remain in denial hoping the next round of COAs will pass. Instead of hoping for a miracle, let Canna Klean & Remediation help your facility identify and eliminate the problems causing your facility to fail lab tests.
Matt Short, owner and CEO of Canna Klean & Remediation, has been in the mold and microbe treatment business for 20 years. He is an expert in his field and has created a compliant processing process using specific chemicals and technologies that can be used within hemp growing facilities. Operation Short follows the source and root cause of a pollution problem and pairs scientific testing and data to identify and eliminate the problem.
“We are following the source and root cause of the contamination issue by working with Certified Industrial Hygienists (CIH) to identify, form and count colonies in the facility. After our process is complete, disinfection tests are performed by the CIH team to show that the area is free of contamination and has a clean sanitary certificate,” says Short. . “We highly recommend implementing frequent environmental testing and a deep cleaning schedule going forward after decontamination is complete. Routine quarterly environmental testing and deep cleaning can mean the difference between hitting your quarterly sales numbers or having to explain why a microbial outbreak is causing you not to. Maintain The environmental health of your facility is what your crop, your employees, and your profits need to succeed.”
Use compatible methods
Working inside cannabis growing facilities has a unique set of challenges. Each state has its own set of rules and regulations that include specific allowance levels for pollutants and pesticides. Many of the chemicals used in commercial cleaning applications to target mold or bacteria are not safe options for use within hemp facilities or around a high-value crop. Gassing of these chemicals at a cannabis facility can cause the crop to fail laboratory tests for pesticides. Staff safety is paramount while disinfecting the facility. Keeping employees safe and maintaining a consistently income-generating facility is the main focus while Canna Klean & Remediation operates within the facility.
Maintaining a clean environment and using best practices keeps pollutant levels in the environment controlled. It’s not just about clearing the facility and moving on; It is also about the ongoing maintenance of the space that keeps the facility clean and passes its own laboratory tests. A healthy farming environment yields steady returns. Routine environmental sampling, including air quality assessments, surface swabs, tape elevation, water quality assessments, media testing and input testing have become standards in large-scale cannabis production operations.
Mold and microbial contamination do not go away on their own. To win the battle against the invisible enemies, it is necessary to use a process designed to eradicate the distinct species using chemistry and technologies that target the pollutants. Canna Klean & Remediation has developed a warranty-backed process to eliminate contamination within the cannabis growing facility and restore the space to better than pre-contamination levels.
If your establishment has frequent flower lab test failures, contact Canna Klean & Remediation at 877-907-0160 or visit cannaklean.com.
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