Maine testing ‘irregularities’ prompt widening cannabis recall

Maine regulators are expanding a recent recall of adult-use cannabis products possibly tainted with bacteria, yeast and mold.

The Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) is recalling marijuana flower, pre-rolls and blunts produced by Greenville Junction-based Nova Farms and sold at a total of 23 marijuana stores in the Portland area after discovering “data irregularities” in cannabis testing lab results, according to an agency notice released Thursday.

The OCP on Oct. 11 issued an initial recall of Nova Farms products with the strain Frosted Cookies sold between Sept. 17 and Oct. 8 “due to the presence of Microbials (aerobic bacteria and Enterobacteriaceae) and Yeast and Mold above the pass/fail threshold,” according to an agency release.

Regulators expanded the recall Thursday to include Nova Farms products sold by another nine stores between Aug. 30 and Oct. 14.

The agency said an “investigation into the cause and scope of this contamination is ongoing.”

Marijuana regulators nationwide are slowly stepping up the use of so-called “reference laboratories” to confirm potency and safety testing conducted by commercial labs.

This follows years of allegations that pressure from cannabis retailers and product manufacturers to produce favorable results mean those lab tests can’t always be trusted.