ACS Laboratory Launches its Own Hemp Testing Panel

ACS Laboratory has launched its own national hemp compliance testing panel.

The Florida-based cannabis testing company made the announcement on August 17.

The panel will help the lab test hemp samples for 18 cannabinoids, 105 pesticides, 24 heavy metals, 55 potential residual solvents, 17 different microorganisms, and every required mycotoxin to detect parts per billion, as well as for moisture content, water activity, and terpenes.

“We developed the National Hemp Testing Panel because comprehensive testing is key to the industry’s future,” Roger Brown, president of ACS Laboratory, said in a statement.

The panel’s launch comes a year after the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued its final rules on hemp. Since then, several states, including Florida, have released their own testing rules for hemp growers.

Brown and his colleagues say they decided to start the hemp panel after reviewing these differing guidelines and realizing that new testing methods would be needed to align all the different maximum allowable limits for various contaminants. These new methods, according to ACS, requires investment in highly sensitive instrumentations that could quantify the lowest action limits.

“Compliance is critical to reducing liability risks and expanding market opportunities, and unfortunately, most laboratories do not offer comprehensive testing,” Brown continued.

“By submitting samples for national panel testing, hemp growers, manufacturers, and processors can confidently sell products anywhere in the country.”

ACS Laboratory is based in Sun City Center, Florida. It was licensed by the state’s Department of Health Office of Medical Marijuana Use in June 2020.