Concern that a batch of Bud Coast – Saltspring OG Shark dried cannabis is contaminated with powdery mildew has prompted a voluntary recall of the product. Made by Joint Venture Craft Cannabis Inc., the 1,071 units were available in 3.5-gram packs, distributed by the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch and sold between Sept. 22 and Oct. 7.

Notes the Health Canada recall notice: “In certain individuals, exposure may result in allergic symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, wheezing, runny nose or nasal congestion, and watery or itchy eyes.”The notice advises that anyone who has purchased the product should immediately stop using it and either dispose of it safely or return it to where it was purchased.

Although exposure to mouldy cannabis products can result in temporary adverse health consequences, the notice points out, “the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.” Neither Health Canada nor the company has “received any adverse reaction reports about the recalled cannabis.”

In all, Joint Venture Craft Cannabis has received two complaints about the now-recalled product; Health Canada has not received any.

There have certainly been other cannabis-related recall notices, both north and south of the border.

Just last week, the Colorado Department of Revenue , in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, issued a health and safety advisory because of potentially unsafe levels of t otal y east , mould contamination and w ater activity on both m edical and r etail cannabis flower produced by The Chronic Factory LLC, doing business as The Chronic Factory.

This past July in Canada, Atlas Growers Ltd. voluntarily pulled three product lots of pre-rolled joints over concern there could be yeast, mould and bacteria contamination. An estimated 11,304 units were sold between Dec. 1, 2020, and July 7, 2021.

And early in 2021, 33 lots of two flavours of Haven Street THC-infused gummies have been recalled by TerrAscend Canada after the gummies, suspected of being contaminated with mould, prompted almost a dozen complaints.

Certain types of moulds can cause allergic reactions in humans and certain pathogenic moulds can contribute to ill health.

Other recalls may not have anything to do with contamination, but, rather, inaccurate labelling.

The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) recently announced that hemp CBD tincture produced by Cura CS, LLC, and sold under its Select brand, was subject to a mandatory recall because the product was mislabelled as CBD when it contains undisclosed levels of THC.” The incident has reportedly prompted a federal lawsuit .

Another Oregon recall involved vapes that “allegedly contain ingredients that were imported from California and were added to the vapes after they had already been tested for potency, pesticides and solvents.”

A Canadian study published in October 2019 found that “powdery mildew infection is commonly present in most production facilities and will require proactive management methods and potential identification and utility of disease-resistant genetic selections.”

Late last year, Israeli start-up CanBreed reported it has used CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology to make the cannabis plant resistant to potentially deadly powdery mildew. The next step is to start working with scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to prove the gene-edited plants are truly resistant to the fungus, the company announced at the time.

The Canadian government’s Good production practices guide for cannabis notes that holding licences for producing edible cannabis or cannabis extracts “must identify and analyze the biological, chemical and physical hazards that present a risk of contamination to the cannabis or anything that would be used as an ingredient in the production of the edible cannabis or cannabis extract.”

Under biological hazards, these include microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi and moulds.