X-ray technology company VJ Group announced on Wednesday that it has launched VJ Scientific, a new cannabis division that will provide product decontamination equipment to the regulated marijuana industry. The company also revealed the new enterprise’s initial product offering, which it characterized as “a revolutionary non-thermal, non-chemical cannabis decontamination machine.” Dubbed the CX-1000, the new cannabis decontamination solution will be debuted next month at MJBizCon in Las Vegas.

 

Commercial cannabis cultivation carries the risk of contamination from an array of biological sources, including yeasts, mold and bacteria. To protect consumers from the potentially harmful effects of these contaminants, many states that have legalized cannabis production have enacted legislation requiring cannabis products to pass laboratory tests for contamination before they enter the market. Nationally, up to 15% of cannabis flower fails yeast and mold testing, according to information from Trichome Analytical. Failed tests can result in loss from required product disposal, fines, product liability litigation, reputational harm and in some situations, loss of a company’s license to produce cannabis.

Don Naugler, director of technology and founding member of VJ Scientific, says that the company collaborated with the cannabis industry to develop the CX-1000.

“We worked directly with major cannabis cultivators to develop technology to solve the specific challenges they face,” Naugler said in a statement from the company. “Meeting with growers, distributors, researchers as well as decontamination experts in the food industry helps us create solutions tailored to the cannabis industry’s unique needs.”

VJ Group is a leading global provider of high-tech X-ray solutions for some of the largest companies in the medical, pharmaceutical, electronics manufacturing, food and defense industries, providing a comprehensive range of innovative X-ray systems, solutions and services for businesses around the world. VJ Scientific has developed proprietary X-ray technology for the CX-1000 that gives cannabis cultivators an effective processing solution to safely clean cannabis by remediating microbiological growth on cannabis flower.

Irradiating Cannabis For Decontamination

Using radiation such as x-rays is not a new method to ensure that cannabis is free of microbial contamination, although it does pose some marketing challenges. But Naugler says that the “CX-1000 has many technical and operational advantages compared to current cannabis irradiation options available.”