New third-party certification program to test for THC content in ingredients, finished products

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U.S. contract laboratory Alkemist Labs (Garden Grove, CA) is partnering with Canadian contract research organization Nutrasource to launch a new third-party certification program to test the THC content in ingredients and finished products. The new program will be called the International Cannabinoid Analysis Program (ICAP).

In a press release, the companies said: “The International Cannabinoid Analysis Program (ICAP) is a certification program for manufacturers and brands that is designed to provide consumers with freely available third-party-verified testing results in order to increase confidence and improve decision making in the cannabis products market. ICAP tests cannabis, hemp, and their extracts or derivative products with appropriate methods to ensure they contain less than 0.20% delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. The limit is in alignment with the European regulations, the most stringent global standards.”

Samples are already being beta-tested under the new program, and the companies expect the program to officially launch in September.

Trustworthy verifications are increasingly important as regulatory bodies like the FDA scrutinize the fast-growing hemp CBD and extract market. “Clearly, accurate testing in this product category is a concern, as evidenced by several comments at the recent FDA meeting on CBD regulation,” said Elan Sudberg, Alkemist Labs’ CEO, in the press release. “The expertise of our two companies working together brings a high level of credibility to this program.”