GUELPH, Ontario, Sept. 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Purity IQ (PIQ) is proud to announce High North Laboratories located in Woodbridge, Ontario Canada, is now the first approved testing laboratory to perform testing requirements based upon the established standard operating procedures, for the Cannabis Authenticity and Purity Standard (CAPS) certification program.
"It's an honor to be the first Purity-IQ recognized laboratory in Canada on top of being a part of the technical working group to help standardize cannabis production, processing, and testing. There has been a void in the cannabis industry for recognized standards, as well as confusion on what pharmacopoeia to reference; herbal or pharmaceutical for example. Being a part of helping standardize proper cannabis specific procedures for quality and safety will only help our industry and we are excited to play a role. " states Rick Moriarity, CIO/COO at High North.
On the tail of the Purity-IQ Canadian representation, CLIP Labs of Southern California is also the first US-affiliated cannabis testing Lab approved under its Cannabis Authenticity and Purity Standard (CAPS) license agreement. Jordan Cohen, CEO at CLIP Labs comments, “we have recently been awarded accreditation under ISO 17025:2017 standards for cannabis testing laboratories. In most major countries, ISO/IEC 17025 is the standard for which most labs must hold accreditation to be deemed technically competent. We are excited to be able to represent the Purity-IQ CAPS program in the State of California and as part of the quality requirements for third-party certification in the CAPS program and to offer our clients the opportunity to be referenced in the first and only Global Registry for Cannabis/Hemp in California.”
Under the CAPS agreement, approved and accredited labs will collaborate and conduct plant genomic DNA extractions, metabolomic extractions for NMR analysis as and provide cannabinoid and terpene analyses for cannabis and hemp cultivars, extracts, and finished products. PIQ-licensed laboratories will manage agreements with clients in support of the cannabis/hemp reference libraries.
We are optimistic that the cannabis supply chain will see value for adopting the CAPS quality management system, as we continue to develop and populate our Global Registries and reference libraries for cannabis/hemp, using validated scientific method with our partner labs. This underpins our ISO-based voluntary requirements, for brand trust recognition, expresses Paul Valder, Cofounder and Chief Technical Officer at Purity-IQ.
Purity-IQ is now accepting applications for approval, from those labs wishing to build value-added capacity for providing Certificates of Analysis to those companies and brands seeking third-party certification in the CAPS. Newly approved labs will have the market advantage in North America to implement these added services using state-of-the-art, high-performance, and portable benchtop spectrometer instruments and Bruker Corporation’s Fourier 80-FT-NMR.
About High North Laboratories, Inc.
High North provides cannabis growers and producers with fast and transparent product testing, in a state-of-the-art laboratory located in Toronto, Ontario, which has been designed and dedicated entirely to Canadian cannabis analysis. High North provides a unique and proprietary online customer dashboard system, allowing reports to be easily tracked and analyzed from anywhere in the world. High North is currently in the process of implementing and obtaining third-party accreditation under ISO 17025:2017, to support Health Canada Dealers License permitting High North to conduct activities at our new facility and for the Canadian cannabis industry.
About Purity-IQ Inc.
Purity-IQ is a Canadian biotechnology company based in Mississauga, Ontario. The business provides the supply chain with validated scientific innovation in research and development, with a focus on ingredient and product identity, authenticity, consistency, and purity claims. Purity-IQ focuses on commodities and inputs for the food, drug, beverage, natural health products and cannabis industries. Purity-IQ and its commercialized services offer practical and affordable quality assurance tools and standards, to business interested in increased brand protection and customer loyalty.
About CLIP Labs
CLIP Labs is an independent third-party cannabis and hemp testing laboratory in Southern California servicing the R&D and testing needs of the cannabis and hemp industry. CLIP Labs was envisioned in late 2019 as a Cannabis Laboratory Innovation Project to further promote transparency for the cannabis and hemp end-user and provide the critical thinking and analytical tools to solve everyday problems of individual cultivators and producers within the industry. CLIP Labs was recently awarded their accreditation under ISO 17025:2017 standards for cannabis testing laboratories.