New Test Released for Aspergillus Contamination in Cannabis

Aspergillus fumigatus. Credit: CDC
Clear Scientific has announced the addition of a new product for aspergillus testing. The company has provided a fast and easy solution to a pertinent challenge in the cannabis industry. States such as California, Nevada, and Alaska have established safety testing guidelines requiring the detection of specific organisms for cannabis prior to use.
“Safety testing is generally regulated by federal agencies such as the FDA or USDA, which have been unable to assist local municipalities with legal marijuana protocols. Our product helps businesses comply with their states’ microbiology safety requirements specifically related to cannabis” said Scott Benson, President of Clear Scientific. Aspergillus is a type of fungal spore that is typically harmless, but can be potentially dangerous to those with compromised immune systems. Clear Scientific has developed a robust assay utilizing qPCR that will detect specific organisms while drastically reducing the potential for registering “false positives” from other closely related species.
Their new product, called Clear Aspergillus, detects four species of Aspergillus which includes the aspergillus fumigatus, aspergillus niger, aspergillus terreus and aspergillus flavus species. The company has extensive expertise in pathogen testing and their new product provides accurate results within twenty-four hours on a robust, repeatable, high throughput platform. The Clear Aspergillus uses simplified methods to provide reliable, fast and specific results for the user. The new product is compatible with any Realtime PCR system which allows other analyses to run on the same platform, thus reducing cost and increasing laboratory efficiencies.