United States

Cannabis testing regulations vary from state to state despite being routinely modified. The adequacy of regulatory frameworks is often questioned particularly in relation to the significant variability in pesticide testing requirements, in both the number of pesticides included in testing and the associated action limits. This presentation will describe how and why Colorado has modified pesticide testing requirements over time in cannabis and hemp products, including associated regulatory challenges and laboratory implementation challenges. Insights into how laboratories can adapt to the evolving regulatory landscape will be discussed. Furthermore, it outlines strategies for enhancing enforcement and regulatory modifications to improve pesticide oversight in the cannabis industry, while considering future expansions of pesticide lists and monitoring practices. The need for cohesive regulatory standards is evident to ensure consumer safety in a rapidly evolving industry, but must be approached with awareness of the limitations of technology and the implementation challenges for testing laboratories, industry and regulators.
 

2025 AOAC INTERNATIONAL Annual Meeting &amp; Exposition

Evolution of Pesticide Testing Regulation in Colorado Cannabis

#### The AOAC INTERNATIONAL Annual Meeting: A Unique Analytical Science Opportunity

The AOAC Annual Meeting & Exposition provides unparalleled professional development, networking, and collaboration in methods-based science. 

* **Businesses**: Meet scientific and regulatory experts and engage with new trends and standards.

* **Scientists**: Build professional expertise and network with your community to share information and best practices.

* **Regulators**: Leverage unprecedented opportunity for stakeholder collaboration on complex testing and analysis challenges, helping improve compliance and public safety.

* **Academia**: Engage with colleagues – both students and faculty – at all career and research levels.


#### Keep Pace with Innovation
* Take advantage of emerging methods, best practices, and trending topics like food fraud and cannabis purity and potency. 
* Discover new technologies, from DNA authentication to genomic microbial identification. 
* Get professional insights from industry insiders through the AOAC Spotlight.

#### Experience the AOAC Analytical Solutions Forum

This multi-faceted “idea incubator” focuses on regulatory changes and emerging food safety issues. A plenary and two breakout sessions feature thought-provoking ideas to identify and meet analytical needs.

The 2025 AOAC INTERNATIONAL Annual Meeting & Exposition was held in person in San Diego, USA.

<br><br>

You need to log in with the email address you registered with. 



Please log in to explore this event.

To access this event, you need to register [here](https://www.aoac.org/2025-annual-meeting-exposition/).



Please register!

2025 AOAC INTERNATIONAL Annual Meeting & Exposition

The AOAC Annual Meeting & Exposition provides unparalleled professional development, networking, and collaboration in methods-based science.

Introductions Erik Konings

Activities of JAPAN SECTION to Engage Local Analytical Community

Student Recruitment

Past and upcoming activities

Welcome and Introduction

Biodiversity and symbiosis are the prevailing themes that have helped expand the popularity of multispecies probiotic formulations. Research endeavors on the topic have demonstrated that probiotic blends provide more symbiotic and beneficial effects, particularly on gut health. Currently, there is an increasing demand from customers to deliver at least 10 probiotic species per dosage. This posed a challenge to probiotic formulators, finished product manufacturers, and their quality control laboratories.
Formulation and manufacturing should be intricately designed to ensure that every production process conserves all the probiotic species up to their final form (e.g., capsules or tablets). Ultimately, the Quality Control Laboratory will then have to verify the identity of each probiotic species as promised for each dosage. Most probiotic product manufacturers contract with expert laboratories for multispecies identification testing. This incurs a substantial cost, not only in the testing costs but also in the turnaround time of the test. The average price of testing for the identification of 10 different species of probiotics ranges from $1,000 to $ 3,000 per sample, with the fastest turnaround time being 3 days.
The challenge of verifying product purity is a strong motivator for the in-house laboratory to explore innovative strategies to reduce the cost of identification testing and turnaround time. The speaker will present new developments in probiotic identification testing that aim to bring multi-species probiotic identification testing in-house, lowering the cost of identifying multispecies probiotics to less than $500 per sample and achieving a turnaround time of 1 hour.

Challenges and Innovative Strategies of Identifying Individual Probiotic Species in MultiSpecies Formulations: A Finished Product Manufacturer’s In-House QC Lab Approach

The identification and enumeration of probiotic multi-strain blends are essential for ensuring product quality, efficacy, and regulatory compliance. Various technologies and methods can be employed to identify and quantify the specific strains within these blends. Cultural plate count and biochemical/phenotypic identification – the respective “traditional” methods for enumeration and identification of probiotics – underperform when applied to biotic multi-strain blends due to poor specificity, decreased accuracy, increased variability, and time to result.
Molecular identification techniques, such as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), offer highly specific and reliable identification by targeting unique DNA sequences of each strain. The use of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) for applications such as shotgun metagenomic DNA sequencing can be incorporated into standard laboratory testing operations to quickly and effectively identify individual biotic species in a blend. 
Enumeration methods, such as plate count methods (Colony Forming Units - CFU), remain the gold standard for quantifying viable bacteria but numerous challenges exist with these techniques. Solutions including quantitative PCR (qPCR) and digital PCR (dPCR) are particularly effective for strain-specific identification and enumeration in multi-strain blends. Flow cytometry is another application that can differentiate between viable and non-viable cells using fluorescent dyes, providing rapid and detailed analysis of the physiological state of the bacteria. Advances in flow cytometry using techniques such as fluorescence in-situ hybridization or antibody tagging have incorporated species-specificity into the viability evaluation. 
Advances in biotic identification and enumeration methods can now provide a comprehensive understanding of probiotic blends, enhancing quality control and supporting the development of effective probiotic products.

Overcoming Obstacles: Technologies for the Enumeration and Identification of Probiotic Multi-Strain Blends

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring component in the human body, playing a vital role in maintaining moisture within tissues such as the skin and joints. Its broad functionality has led to widespread use in fields like medicine, cosmetics, and dietary supplements. HA’s unique physicochemical properties, including its strong water-binding capacity and viscoelastic nature, make it well-suited for various biomedical applications, from viscosupplementation to wound healing. However, its complex biopolymeric structure, composed of D-glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-glucosamine units, presents challenges for direct quantification due to its high molecular weight and varying size distribution. This study focuses on accurately measuring HA in different matrices, including supplements, creams, and liquid sodium hyaluronate for equine use. The analysis method involves sample extraction in a Tris-HCl buffer solution, enzymatic digestion with chondroitinase ABC, and subsequent detection using high-performance liquid chromatography with UV analysis. The method proved effective across different sample types, highlighting its reliability and practicality. Overall, this research enhances analytical techniques for HA, a crucial biomolecule with significant biomedical applications.

Quantification of Hyaluronic Acid Using HPLC-UV

Pesticides residues are commonly found in teas, and demand for analytical detection is increasing as global tea consumption increases. We developed a robust analytical method that enables almost 400 both polar and non-polar pesticides to be analyzed under ESI and APCI utilizing a dual source LC-MS/MS. This method eliminates the need for GC-MS/MS analysis by analyzing a list of 50 pesticides using APCI. 
Experiments were carried out using a QSight 420 UHPLC-MS/MS via a divert valve. A simple solvent extraction sample prep procedure with isotopic internal standard dilution was employed. Matrix effects were evaluated using black tea, chamomile, and herbal blend. In total, 690 MRM transitions were monitored for 345 compounds in the ESI method, and 100 MRM transitions were monitored for 50 compounds in the APCI method. A single C18 column was used for both LC methods.
In this work, we demonstrate how a practical simple solvent extraction can be utilized to achieve the analysis of a large multi‑residue panel of pesticides, with low limits of detection (with 319 of 395 analytes displaying LOQs of 5 ng/g or below), minimal matrix effects (94% of compounds with negligible %SSE in black tea), and excellent method performance (93% of compounds with accuracies within 70 ‑ 120% and RSD &lt; 20%). QSight’s Dual Source design allows for APCI analysis on traditionally GC‑only compounds to be included in this LC pesticide panel, reducing instrument workload, and potentially eliminating the need for complementary GC‑MS protocol for multi‑residue pesticide quantification. Simple sample preparation and StayClean ion source instrumentation allows for a robust analytical solution with the potential to analyze hundreds of pesticides in many different matrices.

Dual ESI/APCI StayClean™ Ion Source QSight LC-MS/MS for Analysis of Near 400 Polar and Non-polar Pesticide Residues in Tea

Accurate detection of Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbons (MOSH) and Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons (MOAH) is critical for food safety and regulatory compliance. However, inconsistencies in chromatographic integration, baseline corrections, and subjective analyst interpretation create variability, hindering standardization and reproducibility (JRC report: Robouch et al., 2022, JRC129603).
This session introduces a transformative AI-driven solution: Generative Limited Sample Model AI, a novel approach designed to eliminate analytical variability and standardize MOSH/MOAH analysis across laboratories. Unlike conventional deep learning models that require extensive datasets, LSM AI learns from a limited set of expert-annotated samples, providing a scalable, high-precision, and adaptable solution for contaminant detection. This innovation allows laboratories to move beyond subjective, manual data processing and embrace fully automated chromatographic deconvolution, matrix effect correction, and AI-driven regulatory compliance workflows.
Key Innovations and Analytical Advancements

AI-Driven Chromatographic Peak Deconvolution – Eliminates manual bias, ensuring reproducible MOSH/MOAH quantification across GC-FID and GC×GC-TOFMS platforms.
Instrument Variation Compensation – Dynamically corrects for inter-laboratory discrepancies, harmonizing data processing with real-time LSM AI-driven calibration.
MOSH/MOAH Source Attribution – Enhances regulatory compliance by classifying contamination origins (food processing lubricants, recycled packaging, environmental deposition).
Automated Workflows for Non-Specialists – Expands adoption by replacing expert-dependent manual workflows with AI-powered data interpretation and compliance tracking.
Regulatory Alignment & AOAC Standardization – Delivers standardized, reproducible, and bias-free quantification, supporting AOAC and JRC guidelines for method validation.

This breakthrough enables scalable, automated MOSH/MOAH analysis, ensuring regulatory-ready, high-accuracy results without manual inconsistencies.

Content not yet available

Next from 2025 AOAC INTERNATIONAL Annual Meeting & Exposition

Introductions Erik Konings

Stay up to date with the latest Underline news!

PRESENTATIONS

CONFERENCES

COMPANY

RESOURCES