Maximize Your Product’s Potential with ACS Laboratory's Cannabis Testing Services
Cannabis testing at ACS Laboratory uses sophisticated, high-performance equipment to provide valuable data about cannabis and hemp products. It verifies levels of critical cannabinoids and terpenes for potency and flavor profiling and screens for potentially hazardous pesticides, residual solvents, and heavy metals. Cannabis testing benefits cannabis growers, processors, and brands, allowing them to optimize quality, label products accurately, improve packaging, and ensure safety.
This article explores ACS Laboratory’s cannabis testing services and how they maximize product potential.
What is Cannabis Testing?
Cannabis (analytical) testing quantifies the cannabinoids in the plant and final products and examines all aspects of the plant and its final products.
It encompasses many testing options, allowing brands to deliver accurate potency, flavor, and safety. Accredited labs report the results of cannabis testing in an official report called a certificate of analysis (COA) that brands and consumers can review.
Cannabis testing at ACS Laboratory includes:
- Full-panel testing for quantifying levels of THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids in cannabis and hemp to report product potency
- Terpene and flavonoid profiling to differentiate products and maximize their flavor and aroma
- Testing for the presence of pesticides, heavy metals, and residual solvents to ensure safety and purity in concentrates, edibles, and other extract-based products
- Early testing for moisture content and water activity to verify plant health and avoid harmful mold and bacteria
- Shelf life and stability testing for accurately labeling and fine-tuning packaging options for products like edibles and beverages
Cannabis testing is available for all product types, including:
- Cannabis flower
- Edibles (including gummies and chocolate)
- Vapes
- Concentrates
- Extracts
- Tinctures
- Nano cannabis emulsions
- Beverages
- Topicals, skin creams, and transdermal patches
- Cannabis inhalers
Below are more details about various cannabis testing options and how they maximize product potential.
Cannabis Testing for Potency
Determining cannabinoid potency is an essential component of cannabis testing for compliance and consumer education.
- Reporting the levels of THC and CBD, the compounds most responsible for the plant’s psychoactive and medicinal benefits, is often a state or federal requirement for legal sales.
- Potency testing also allows accurate labeling so that consumers can make informed decisions about dosage based on a product’s reported strength and understand what effects to expect from the compounds it contains.
Potency 25 test
ACS Laboratory’s Potency 25 test is the most comprehensive cannabinoid potency panel available in the U.S.
In addition to THC and CBD, ACS meticulously quantifies another 28 major and minor cannabinoids using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography.
These include the acidic forms of THC and CBD that exist before being decarboxylated by heat and light, which are critical in determining the accurate potency of cannabis products intended for heat applications, such as flower and extracts.
Cannabis Testing for Terpenes and Flavonoids
Cannabis testing for additional compounds like terpene potency and flavonoid content helps brands determine the end product’s flavor, effects, and best usage.
- Terpenes are the essential oils in cannabis responsible for the plant's unique scents and flavors. Terpenes also influence effects, such as the invigorating citrus smell of limonene or the relaxing lavender aroma of linalool.
- Flavonoids are phytonutrients that also contribute to the plant’s pigments, flower coloration, taste, smell, and overall sensory experience.
- These compounds synergize with cannabinoids like THC and CBD to create each strain’s unique therapeutic profile in what is known as the “entourage effect.”
Terpene and flavonoid profiling
ACS Laboratory tests hemp and cannabis flowers and extracts for 38 terpenes and 16 flavonoids. Testing for terpene and flavonoid potencies is especially important after harvest because these compounds can vary based on climate, soil type, and crop age. Terpene and flavonoid profiles can also differ significantly between flower and extract-based products. Knowing the levels of these vital compounds allows manufacturers to differentiate their products and better market them.
Cannabis Testing for Shelf Life, Stability, and Homogeneity
Cannabis testing for shelf life, stability, and homogeneity considers how environmental conditions like temperature, lighting, air, and humidity affect safety and potency.
- Shelf life testing predicts a product's overall lifespan (the number of days it remains stable based on recommended storage conditions).
- Stability testing focuses on a product’s resilience to changes after opening or during storage.
- Homogeneity testing ensures edible products contain a consistent amount of THC throughout so consumers can take the correct dosage.
These tests are vital for establishing expiration dates and providing consumers with reliable information on product durability. They can also help manufacturers optimize packaging and storage conditions, avoiding ones that can degrade or contaminate products over time.
Shelf life and stability testing
ACS Laboratory conducts real-time and accelerated shelf-life and stability testing at three, six, and 12 months. These tests examine many factors over these periods, including:
- Cannabinoid and terpene content
- Water activity (which may lead to mold and mildew)
- pH levels (for beverages)
- Microbiology (such as bacteria, algae, and fungi)
- Odor (ensuring products smell and taste as expected)
Testing flower, extracts, and edibles for shelf life and stability ensures products maintain their potency of THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids and terpenes, which can alter or degrade due to oxidation. Stability testing is especially vital for cannabis beverages because water-based drinks are highly susceptible to bacteria growth and pH imbalances.
Homogeneity testing
ACS Laboratory conducts homogeneity testing by breaking edibles into multiple pieces and individually analyzing each one’s cannabinoid profile and content. Inconsistent THC levels can lead to dosage problems, potentially causing adverse effects in people sensitive to THC. Brands that fail homogeneity tests can work with ACS to pinpoint issues with their manufacturing process and identify areas for improvement.
Cannabis Testing for Safety
Cannabis testing for harmful contaminants is essential in keeping customers safe and building brand trust. Sellers must remove dangerous solvents used in the manufacturing process for extract-based products and test flower and its derivatives for heavy metals, pesticides, and other unhealthy compounds that cannabis plants absorb through the soil, water, and air.
Heavy metals testing for HHC products
Heavy metals testing at ACS Laboratory detects harmful contaminants at extremely low concentrations using ICPMS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry), the gold standard in testing technology. Heavy metals can pose serious health issues if they make it into final products, incuding:
- Arsenic
- Cadmium
- Lead
- Mercury
- Nickel
- Palladium
- Platinum
- Zinc
ACS also developed a specific HHC Potency Test and corresponding HHC Metals Testing Bundle tailored to HHC (hexahydrocannabinol), one of the latest hemp-based cannabinoids with significant clinical potential. Few laboratories can detect the difference between Delta-8 THC and HHC because they appear very similar in results, so this is an innovative step in accurately labeling and testing HHC products.
Vitamin E Acetate testing for vapes
Vitamin E acetate is a cheap thinning agent used in vapes to dilute or thicken the THC or CBD substance, enhancing its usage in cartridges. However, when heated and inhaled, vitamin E acetate is dangerous to lung function, making it a major threat to customer safety. ACS Laboratory’s Vitamin E Acetate testing ensures that vape products are 100% free of this risky chemical.
Residual solvent testing for extracts
Solvent-based extraction produces high-quality concentrates using chemicals like butane, propane, and ethanol. However, extract products like shatter or wax have smaller surface areas and require more time, heat, and a deeper vacuum to thoroughly purge them of these dangerous compounds. Residual solvent testing ACS Laboratory uses Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) equipment to ensure potent extract-based products are safe to ingest.
Pesticide testing
Cannabis pesticide testing at ACS Laboratory keeps cannabis and hemp products, from flower and vapes to tinctures and gummies, free from unsafe levels of chemicals used during cultivation. ACS can test for up to 105 pesticides, including:
Additional contaminant tests for plant health
The warm, humid growing conditions for cannabis and hemp crops are also hospitable for fungi, bacteria, and other natural contaminants that can be harmful to humans. ACS Laboratory offers comprehensive testing to ensure dangerous microorganisms don’t make it into final products, including:
The Bottom Line
Cannabis testing helps brands maximize their product potential and inform customers about potency, effects, flavor, and best usage. It’s also a compliance requirement for legal sales. Providers must work with top-tier laboratories to ensure the results are reliable and precise.
ACS Laboratory leads the nation in cannabis testing for potency and purity, receiving 82 Emerald Badges—more than any other lab in the USA. Florida MMTCs looking to stay on top of safety, compliance, and quality standards can contact ACS Laboratory today.
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