Cleaning for the Cannabis Industry

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The cannabis industry is growing rapidly as more states across the US legalize cannabis use. And, as with any industry, an effective cleaning protocol is necessary.

The most important factor in developing one is the selection of an appropriate cleaner. Other important variables include dwell time, temperature, mechanical force, and cleaner concentration. When certain factors are restricted—like when high temperatures cannot be achieved—the other variables can be manipulated to compensate.

International Products Corporation (IPC), Burlington, NJ, performed experiments testing various temperatures, dwell times, and concentrations with each of IPC’s cleaning products to determine which combinations are best at cleaning hops resin on stainless steel.

Before the recent election, cannabis use was illegal in New Jersey, so detergency tests could not be  performed with cannabis soils. Instead, hops resin was tested as a substitute for cannabis resin. Hops are the flower of the plant Humulus lupulus, whose resin is used to impart flavor and bitterness in beer. This resin was selected for testing because the hops plant is the most closely related plant to cannabis: both are members of the Cannabaceae family and share many of the same terpenes; further, hops resin is a difficult soil to clean, as it is very sticky and not water soluble.

In another IPC study, hemp-oil was tested as a soil, but hemp oil is much easier to clean than resin. Determining that a cleaner is effective at cleaning the toughest soils assures the user the selected cleaner will be effective against the easier soils.

The results obtained gave us confidence that IPC’s cleaners will be effective at cleaning residues and soils left behind from processing cannabis, CBD, hemp oil, extracts, and other botanical products. In addition, IPC offers biodegradable plant-based formulas, especially desirable for this industry:

Micro^® Green Clean

Micro^® A07 Citric Acid Cleaner

Zymit^® Pro Enzyme Cleaner

IPC offers validation assistance to customers for all of their cleaning products. Since there are no federal cGMP regulations for the cannabis industry, we recommend following the cGMP of their target industries—cosmetics, edibles, dietary supplements, extracts, etc. Cleaning surfaces prior to disinfecting is critical. If residual cannabis resin remains on the equipment, this residue becomes a microbial threat to future batches.

Here are links to the studies:

Hops Resin Report

Hemp Oil Report

  Contact International Products Corporation at www.ipcol.com or mkt@ipcol.com

for more information or to request a free product sample.

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