Cannabis Foreign Object Inspection Systems

In the rapidly growing cannabis industry, maintaining the highest standards of product quality and safety is paramount. In fact, recent changes in state regulations, medicinal effects, and consumer perception have been fueling projections that the U.S. cannabis industry will exceed $45.35 billion in 2025 (Statista).

Understanding the unique and varied challenges of cannabis product manufacturing, CASSEL Inspection provides inspection solutions designed to ensure product purity, consumer safety, and brand integrity.

Familiarize yourself with the importance of inspection in the cannabis industry, focusing on the use of advanced technologies such as metal detection, X-ray inspection, and checkweighing.

How is Metal Detection Used in the Cannabis Industry?

Metal fragments from the production process are the primary contaminants of concern for cannabis products. Metal detection is essential for eliminating metal fragments, shavings, and debris caused by processing equipment and tools. The most common metal foreign objects are small blade pieces from the snips cultivators use in the bud and stalk cutting process.

Specialized metal detection systems are ideal for inspecting all forms of cannabis products, including:

• Whole flowers
• Ground cannabis material
• Extracted oils
• Infused product ingredients (e.g., mixtures for gummies, baked goods, etc.)

Metal detectors can be seamlessly integrated at any stage, from initial processing of the raw material to the finished packaged product. Eliminating metal contaminants early in the production process improves cost efficiency by reducing downstream waste of higher-value finished products.

Raw ingredient inspection, bulk ingredient, and final inspection applications are discussed in more detail below.

Raw Ingredient and Final Inspection

Metal detection is a crucial quality assurance step when whole cannabis flowers are sorted and packaged for sale. Adding a gravity-feed metal detector to a cannabis flower processing line facilitates continuous inspection and eliminates metal contaminants prior to packaging or further processing.

Once flowers have reached the packaging stage of production, conveyor belt metal detectors are often the optimal choice. These systems can be tailored to provide reliable, continuous inspection without reducing production speeds. Conveyor systems may also be used for pre-shipment inspection to ensure primary and secondary packaging is free of metal contaminants.

Bulk Ingredient and Final Inspection

Manufacturers of cannabis-infused edibles can utilize metal detection systems to inspect bulk raw materials for metal contaminants before combining them with other ingredients. This is ideal if your brand is hoping to reduce or eliminate costly equipment damage or economic losses due to finished product rejection (production time, packaging, rework, etc.).

There are three common types of bulk ingredient metal detectors in the cannabis industry.

• Pipeline metal detection systems provide continuous inspection of bulk fluid ingredients, such as cannabis oil, sweetener syrups, milk, or chocolate, up to 203°F (95°C). Pipeline metal detectors integrate seamlessly into any process to eject contaminated material without disrupting production.
• Free-flowing granules or powders, such as cannabis flower powder or starch or gelatin powers in edibles, may be inspected using a gravity-feed or fall metal detector. These highly sensitive detectors quickly isolate contaminants that could damage downstream mills or extruders.
• Conveyor belt metal detectors empower edibles manufacturers to inspect larger dry bulk materials and packaged products.

Whether you have bulk ingredients or finished products to inspect, metal detection plays a valuable role to ensure product safety and consumer confidence in your cannabis products.