Standardization News

A new ASTM International standard aims to support quality in the cannabis industry through what is known as the corrective action/preventive action (CAPA) concept. The new standard (soon to be published as D8229) was developed by the organization’s cannabis committee (D37).

According to ASTM International member Kathleen May of MP Consulting, LLC, CAPA focuses on preventing quality issues as well as identifying, investigating, and correcting issues that have already occurred. She says that organizations can use CAPA to help comply with regulatory requirements, to reduce work and waste, to avoid lost revenue, to reduce customer complaints, and to help ensure consumer safety.

“Regulatory agencies gauge quality and compliance through an organization’s management and resolution of quality issues,” says May. “A well-defined CAPA program defines, resolves, and prevents recurrence of quality issues, but it also has a well-established means of detecting and preventing potential quality issues.”

The new standard aims to help organizations develop internal CAPA processes based on the type of operation they are running.

“For example, a laboratory will have to develop an out of specification (OOS) procedure to address testing failures and aberrant data trends,” May says. “And an indoor cultivation facility would develop a procedure on how to address environmental samples that are over the defined acceptance limit.”

READ MORE: Cannabis Standard Development Efforts Off to a Fast Start

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