BelCosta Labs is one of the 41 operational facilities that is expanding in California. One of Long Beach City College’s cannabis course instructors gave students a tour of their cannabis testing lab in North Long Beach.
This lab operates seven days a week and tests cannabis goods from all over the state, having worked with notable Long Beach based brands, such as Wonderbrett and Fresh Baked since May 2018.
The lab is an Industrial Organization for Standard (ISO) certified building and uses millions of dollars worth of Certified Research Materials (CRM) to establish the quality and provenance of cannabis goods.
In accordance with the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) requirements, the lab provides all three phases of lab testing services for cannabis compliance. The following services are some of the tests offered: THC potency tests, residual pesticides testing, and homogeneity tests for edible products.
The lab is broken down into four parts: intake, prep, instrument, and microbial.
When entering intake, you will see employees receiving packages and relabeling samples of brands sent to prevent lab shopping.
Lab shopping is sourcing for labs that have a reputation of being easy to work with. Since California has yet to bring better standardization to cannabis testing it is easy to find labs who would accidentally or purposely falsify tests.
According to Nick Morris, territory supervisor at Kinda High responded that it’s difficult to give an estimate of how much is sent to a lab. In California, the maximum batch size allowed is 50 pounds.
A 2020 study on cannabis testing compliance found “testing cost per pound of cannabis marketed is particularly sensitive to batch size. Testing labs report that batch size varies widely,” Morris said.
This lack of data is largely due to the fact that the cannabis industry is still developing.
“Cannabis is a fairly new industry, the process of testing cannabis has been by trial and error,” Nate Winkour said, vice president of strategy and operations at BelCosta Lab, and a 22-year veteran in the cannabis industry.
From intake, the sample will be sent to prep, where samples are received and taken through a unique scientific method, allowing the lab to focus on accomplishing homogeneity amongst samples.
Part of preparing the samples is to reach homogeneity. This is accomplished by grabbing different batches of the samples sent by brands and mixing it together. The lab has a unique process of mixing the batches before testing.
You will also see flowers, cultivated cannabis, being prepared before testing. Lab technicians prepare the flower by covering it in a solvent that deprives the moisture from the sample. This practice can help give better data to consumers at the retail stores.
In the industry, cannabis goods take a while to reach retail stores because it has to go through manufacturing, testing, distribution, and then retail. If the sample tested above the acceptable amount of pesticides, a new sample must be sent to the lab by law.
By that time, the flower can lose much of its moisture. Therefore, extracting the moisture before testing can give real time data about the flower.
In the instrument area, the samples are tested for pesticides, mold, heavy metals, THC potency or for terpenes.
An instrument called LCMS is present which tests for pesticides and mycotoxin. In order for a brand’s sample to pass the test, it needs to meet a criteria.
One of the most popular and important tests for many brands is testing for potency. BelCosta Labs uses two UHPLCs, an instrument for cannabinoid potency, to meet this demand.
The last part of the lab is for microbial tests. In this area you will find QPCR, an instrument for microbio tests, and PCR instruments to study microorganisms.
Once samples have been tested, the results will determine whether a brands’ sample passed or failed.
Most of these tests, like terpenes and potency, will be showcased to the consumer at a retail store.
However, cannabis consumption is rapidly changing and what we know about cannabis is only the surface. Winokur told us that the increased buzz on terpenes is why the company is planning to open another lab in Sacramento that will explore terpenes, flavonoids, and cannabinoids.
Labs like BelCosta Labs are expanding. In 2023, CA senators will present rules on standardization for cannabis testing. Lab technicians, science directors, and workers will be needed.
Since state legalization, the industry has had a 27% growth rate and lacks an educated and qualified workforce.
For physical science majors, this is an opportunity to tap into an industry that needs innovation and creativity. For labs like BelCosta Labs, science directors, lab technicians, and lab directors are needed to present data that is reliable and accurate.
If you would like to learn more about BelCosta Labs, visit https://www.belcostalabs.com