Label Claim Verification – The Problem with Tiny Amounts of Cannabinoids

The problem with tiny amounts of cannabinoids is that as the concentration decreases, it becomes harder to accurately quantify the analyte of interest. Very small amounts of THC or CBD, close to an analytical system's LOQ, can be difficult to quantify especially when dealing with complex organic mixtures of volatile constituents.

The newly proposed ASTM Specification for Label Content and Style, Format, Location, and Prominence of Elements for Consumer Products Containing Cannabinoids addresses label claim verification for cannabinoid dominance and concentration. This proposed standard suggests the use of +/- 15% w/w or +/- 3x LOQ w/w depending on which is least restrictive for the verification of cannabinoid concentration. For large serving/dosage sizes +/- 15% is less restrictive than +/- 3x LOQ, but for small serving/dosage sizes +/- 3x LOQ is less restrictive than +/- 15%.

This presentation will go into the concept of label claim validation and the challenges in quantifying tiny amounts of cannabinoids and how this impacts inspectors’ and other interested parties’ abilities to verify the amount of each cannabinoid printed on the label.