How to use CRM Heavy Metal Mixes to analyse Cannabis containing Food and Cosmetics

Cannabis (marijuana) and (industrial) hemp are known to accumulate heavy metals and have been used for the remediation of contaminated soil. Due to the potentially hazardous effects of these metals, this property can hinder the use of hemp in food, cosmetic or medical industries. In addition, product contamination with metals can occur during the manufacturing process. As a consequence, food or personal care products containing hemp or hemp extract must be tested for their metal and heavy metal content. This report describes new and time-saving approaches, applying two sets of (heavy) metal-certified reference material (CRM) solutions: A premixed blend of arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead (the “big four”) combined with eight individual (heavy) metal CRMs or a premixed blend of identical concentrations of twelve (heavy) metals (“metal mix I”). Both solutions were utilized in the quantitative analysis of various hemp-containing food and personal care product (PCP) samples by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).