Why independent testing is so important for CBD companies.
You probably already know that all of our products are tested and verified by Lucan Labs.
But why do we make such a big deal about this fact?
And why should you care?
Because external quality checks are important
Not all CBD products are created equal. The best way to know if CBD products are safe, pure, and of high quality comes down to one thing: third-party lab results.
Lucan Labs serves as our unbiased, external quality control.
Because we care so much about every batch of CBD extract, we double check our internal quality control findings with Lucan Labs to make sure it meets their standards too.
The CBD industry is relatively new and isn’t very well-regulated. The responsibility and risk ultimately falls on the consumer to ensure they only buy safe, quality products that meet the information printed on their labels.
The process of external verification keeps CBD companies like us accountable to the contents, efficacy, and safety of our products.
When buying CBD, you should always look out for:
- The amount of CBD per recommended dose.
- How much THC it contains
- The presence of terpenes to determine if its full-spectrum or an isolate
- Levels of detectable mycotoxins, residual solvents and other microbial elements
What does Lucan Labs do?
Lucan Labs is a testing facility that ensures CBD products comply with public safety standards.
The company specialises in testing and analysis of cannabis. They can test just about any form of cannabis including flower, crude, edibles, tinctures and distillates.
They are an industry leader within Africa, boasting an expert team of Chemists and Biotechnologists.
They conduct their analysis with highly advanced scientific testing methods according to international standards.
Their testing process results in a comprehensive Certificate of Analysis (CoA) that lists all the elements (good and bad) that are in the product, and how much of each element is present.
The COA is not just a certificate for us. It also gives you, the consumer, peace of mind that the product is safe, high-quality and good value for money.
Analysis performed
Lucan Labs’ analysis is very extensive. They look for dangerous elements you wouldn’t want to find in your CBD, e.g. pesticides, heavy metals, and mould. They also analyse the good elements to determine the overall quality and purity levels.
Lucan Labs test for these specific elements:
Cannabinoids
Cannabinoid profile and potency.
They test for a list of 12 different cannabinoids, including CBD and THC – this helps determine the quality of cannabis and quantity of cannabinoids in it.
Terpenes
Test for 23 terpenes.
Different terpenes are associated with different medicinal and therapeutic properties. For example, Alpha Bisabolol is a terpene responsible for healing wounds due to its antibacterial properties.
Bacteria and fungi
Microbial testing.
Detects the presence of pathogenic bacteria or fungi (yeast and mould) that contaminate cannabis flower and cannabis-derived products.
Moisture content and water activity
Water activity measures the vapour pressure of water in a substance as a fraction of vapour pressure of pure H2O at the same temperature.
Residual solvent analysis
Residual solvents are toxic and carcinogenic at high levels. That’s why testing for these are vital for safety and quality measurements.
Pesticides
Lucan Labs tests for the presence of over 70 pesticides.
This is because the use of cannabis products with pesticide residues may lead to chronic health effects.
Heavy metals
Heavy metals like mercury, cadmium, arsenic and lead are toxic to human beings. Cannabis can store trace amounts of these heavy metals and transfer them to humans when consumed.
Mycotoxins
Mycotoxins may cause a variety of adverse health effects ranging from acute poisoning to long-term effects such as immune deficiency and cancer.
In Summary
At Apex, we only release products that adhere to Lucan Labs strict standards.
This guarantees our products are of the highest-quality, not just in Africa but worldwide.
To find out more about Lucan Labs, visit https://www.lucanlabs.com/