Pubdate: Sat, 21 Jun 2014
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR)
Copyright: 2014 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.
Contact: http://www2.arkansasonline.com/contact/voicesform/
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Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/25
Author: Kristen Wyatt, the Associated Press
Page: 1D

'POT' EDIBLES RAISE SAFETY ISSUES

States Left to Form Own Food Rules in Burgeoning Industry

DENVER (AP) - The marijuana in "pot" brownies isn't the only thing
that can potentially make consumers sick. The industry and regulators
are taking a closer look at how pot-infused edibles are actually made.

The thriving edible marijuana industry in Colorado is preparing for
new testing requirements - due to take effect in October - to make
sure the products are safe to eat and drink.

While consuming too much of an edible has been connected to at least
one death and a handful of hospital visits since retail recreational
sales began in January, officials say there have been no reports of
anyone getting a food-borne illness from edibles.

Still, activists, producers and officials agree that safety testing is
long overdue for a sector of the new marijuana market that, according
to one industry estimate, has seen the sale of at least 8 million
pieces this year.

Food safety testing is necessary "to building any sort of credibility
for the industry ... to create that public confidence that we're not
just a bunch of stupid kids throwing marijuana into cookies and
putting them on the market," said Jazzmine HallOldham, general manager
of Bakked, which makes cannabis concentrates and potinfused chocolate
bars.

With federal help in regulating production nonexistent because the
drug is illegal under federal law, state and local governments have
had to assemble a patchwork of health and safety regulations for foods
with cannabis.

The agency that regulates Colorado's marijuana industry, the state
Department of Revenue, requires pot manufacturing facilities to meet
the same sanitation requirements as retail food establishments,
including adequate handwashing and refrigeration.

But the question of whether the state's 51 licensed recreational
edible-pot makers meet those standards is left to local health
departments, said agency spokesman Natriece Bryant. State regulations
requiring them also to pass tests for common food contaminants - such
as E. coli and salmonella - don't take effect until the fall.

In Washington state, where retail sales don't begin until next month,
regulations call for products to undergo "microbiological screening,"
though regulations don't set standards on what microbiological agents
are prohibited.

Products will have to qualify for a state-issued "Class A" label in
order to be sold at stores.

For now, it's a case of "buyer beware" when eating foods including
cannabis.

In Denver, where most of Colorado's producers are located, health
officials have been meeting with the businesses to explain new city
requirements that edible marijuana processing facilities get inspected
at least twice per year, the same as restaurants.

Denver's manager for food safety inspections, Danica Lee, showed about
50 industry workers examples of bad food-prep sanitation - bottles of
bleach on the food-prep surface, improperly stored utensils - and
warned that they could face steep fines or even lose their licenses if
they fail repeated inspections.

"We're treating your industry like any other subset of the food
industry," Lee told the processors.

Hall- Oldham and other processors at the meeting seemed to welcome
stricter oversight.

Josh Fink, a former pastry chef who owns Medically Correct, which
makes cannabis-infused candies and protein bars, said most of the
people who are getting into the edibles business don't have a food
preparation background.

"They might know how to make four muffins at home but not 40,000
muffins at a time. That's where the training comes in," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt