LABORATORY SERVICES

 Where are you located?
We are currently in Lincolnwood, Illinois.

How is Deibel Bioscience different from other labs?
Any lab should be able to provide accurate data, in a timely manner and at a fair cost. Deibel Bioscience commits to providing excellent service through a collaborative approach with you. Communication, flexibility, integrity of results and knowledge transfer are points of emphasis in our service approach. Our high touch service and technical acumen sets Deibel Bioscience apart. You have direct and immediate access to the scientists in the labs working on your testing via phone, mobile, and email. They will personally answer your questions and concerns, not a customer service representative in a call center.

What are the current state regulations for Cannabis?
On June 25, 2019, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into Illinois law HB 1438, which will end cannabis prohibition and replace it with a system to tax and regulate cannabis for adults 21 and over. The new law, which was sponsored by Sen. Heather Steans and Rep. Kelly Cassidy, is comprehensive in its approach. In addition to legalizing possession and use for adults, it expands the current medical cannabis licensing system, includes automatic expungement for cannabis offenses, adds the ability for medical patients to grow cannabis at home, and offers significant benefits to communities hit hardest by inequities that were part of the war on cannabis.
Do I have to use a third-party testing Laboratory?
Yes. In all States where Cannabis is legal (for medical or recreational), States have implemented regulations that stipulate the use of a licensed laboratory for the required testing. This license cannot be given to a company or individual that owns an interest in related cannabis business (i.e. a dispensary, cultivation facility or processing center).

What equipment do you use for our samples?
To meet the demand of our clients for accuracy as well as fast turn-around times, Deibel Bioscience has invested in state-of-the-art testing equipment. We’ve selected equipment from the top manufactures in the industry, such as PerkinElmer, Agilent, and Shimadzu to insure accuracy for our clients needs.

Why we use Liquid Chromatography (LC) instead of Gas Chromatography (GC)?
We have invested in High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC-UV) to screen for cannabinoids because it allows us to detect the acid compounds as well as the neutral states, something a Gas Chromatography machine cannot perform.

What is your Turn Around Time for sample results?
Deibel Bioscience offers market leading turnaround times for both R&D and Compliance samples. We offer “Rush” services and “Critical Rush” on most testing. The lab will advise if they can accommodate the Rush or Critical Rush testing when making the request. Most of our labs operate 365 days a year, seven days a week.

SAMPLE SUBMISSION

Do you offer pickups?
Deibel Bioscience maintains a fleet of courier vans for the pickup and sampling of cannabis samples. In Illinois, all regulatory compliance test samples must be taken by an associate of the testing laboratory using validated methods to ensure that the sample is representative of the production batch produced.

Currently, we offer an extensive courier pickup service to clients in Illinois across the State. A trained Field Technician must obtain the physical samples for all Compliance testing, but the client may “drop off” any R&D samples if that is desirable.

Can I send you my samples?
Clients are welcome to drop off non-compliance samples in person but only if they are R&D samples. Products for sale must be sampled by a laboratory associate at a licensed distribution facility. Each compliance package we offer has unique sample-size requirements, as does the individual tests for non-compliance testing of individual assays, but roughly speaking we need at least 1 gram of product for each test listed in Table 1 in the “Testing and Regulatory Compliance” section.  

What is the recommended Sample Size?
If you’re submitting a sample for a full compliance package, the sample size requirements are dependent upon the original Batch/Lot size. The field technician will collect the minimum sizes below to ensure a representative sample sufficient for the state’s testing requirements; however, for batches/lots larger than the sizes listed larger sample sizes will be required:

You must submit samples in a sterile sample container, to avoid any potential for microbial contamination. You can purchase sterile sample containers from our lab or use your own. We are happy to offer guidance on appropriate sampling containers, just ask!

What tests do I need for my samples?

Immediately prior to manufacturing or natural processing of any cannabis or cannabis-infused product or packaging cannabis for sale to a dispensary, each batch shall be made available at the cultivation center for an employee of an approved laboratory to select a random sample, which shall be tested by the approved laboratory for:

1) microbiological contaminants;
2) mycotoxins;
3) pesticide active ingredients;
4) residual solvent; and
5) purposes of conducting an active ingredient analysis.

What are Microbial Impurities?

Various States have adapted different requirements for Pesticides testing in Cannabis, but all
originate from EPA protocols for environmental pesticide analysis.

Illinois Microbial Impurities:

For purposes of the microbiological test, a cannabis sample shall be deemed to have passed if it satisfies the recommended microbial and fungal limits for cannabis products in colony forming units per gram (CFU/g) set out in the American Herbal Pharmocopoeia Monograph Table as follows:

Unprocessed materials include minimally processed crude cannabis preparations such as inflorescences, accumulated resin glands (kief), and compressed resin glands (hashish). Processed materials include various solid or liquid infused edible preparations, oils, topical preparations, and water-processed resin glands (bubble hash).  

Mycotoxin Test

For purposes of the Mycotoxin test, a cannabis sample shall be deemed to have passed if it meets the following standards:
Test Specification
Aflatoxin B1 <20 µg/kg of substance
Aflatoxin B2 <20 µg/kg of substance
Aflatoxin G1 <20 µg/kg of substance
Aflatoxin G2 <20 µg/kg of substance
Aflatoxin A <20 µg/kg of substance

What Pesticides do you test for? 

Various States have adapted different requirements for Pesticides testing in Cannabis, but all originate from EPA protocols for environmental pesticide analysis.

Illinois Pesticide Screening- For purposes of the pesticide chemical residue test, a cannabis sample shall be deemed to have passed if it satisfies the most stringent acceptable standard for a pesticide chemical residue in any food item as set forth in subpart C of USEPA’s regulations for Tolerances and Exemptions for Pesticide Chemical Residues in Food (40 CFR 180 (2014)).

What are (Residual) Solvents and do you test for them?

Increasingly, more and more patients and consumers are seeking concentrated forms of Cannabis (i.e wax, budder, amber glass, shatter, etc.). These types of concentrates are produced by using a solvent (such as CO2, Butane, ethane, propane, etc.) to extract cannabinoids from the flower. Heat is typically used to remove the solvent from the concentrate, but trace amounts can be left behind that may be harmful. 

The Illinois Department of Agriculture Residue Solvent Test: For purposes of the residue solvent test, a cannabis sample shall be below 10 ppm.

REPORTING OF RESULTS

CONFIDENT CANNABIS
Deibel Bioscience of Illinois is excited to announce our partnership with Confident Cannabis, the #1 Cannabis Laboratory Information Management System in North America, designed specifically for supporting cannabis testing. Through your Confident Cannabis account, you can place orders directly with Deibel Bioscience, as well as view, download, and share your results. As soon as Deibel completes your tests, Confident Cannabis will send you emails or SMS text messages with the lab results and Certificates of Analysis. You can also choose to receive emails when orders are created or received by the lab. Register for a free Confident Cannabis at www.confidentcannabis.com. If you already have an account, log in and place an order for your next Deibel Bioscience lab test.

 How do you report results?
All Cannabis Laboratory functions are controlled and monitored through a Laboratory Management Information System or LIMS. The laboratory shall file with the Department of Agriculture an electronic copy of each laboratory test result for any batch that does not pass the microbiological, mycotoxin, or pesticide chemical residue test, at the same time that it transmits those results to the cultivation center. In addition, the laboratory shall maintain the laboratory test results for at least five years and make them available at the Department’s request.

How do you report Out of Specification (OOS) results?
For R&D samples, you will receive a service call or email from the lab as soon as the OOS is obtained by the lab as long as you have provided the Lab with a list of the samples’ specifications (i.e. “Potency should be 80-85%” as you would record on the SARF that is sent along with your samples). Service Calls are a program Deibel Laboratories started over 20 years ago as a mechanism to quickly notify our clients of any adverse test result. These are given out by our chemists and microbiologists who have first-hand knowledge of your samples. This is a great mechanism to be able to ask them technical questions. If you need additional technical advice, the chemist or microbiologist will get a member of our Technical Services Group on the phone so you can get the answers you need.

Accreditation

Deibel Bioscience of Illinois is ISO 17025:2017 accredited and licensed with the State of Illinois.

LIC Chemo Accreditation

LIC Micro Accreditation