Mycotoxins

Mycotoxins are metabolites produced by fungi that can cause disease, damage DNA, and have been associated with increased cancer risk. They have traditionally posed a serious risk to agricultural crops and are of particular concern in inhaled, vaporized and concentrated products.

Monitoring for mycotoxic fungi has been recommended as part of routine safety testing by the Cannabis Safety Institute, driven in part by reported cases of serious pulmonary aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients.

The state requires concentrates to be tested for five mycotoxins: Aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2, and Ochratoxin A. They are named for the organisms that produce them, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus ochraceus.