GMP, or Good Manufacturing Practices, are essential in the CBD extraction industry to maximize quality and optimize supply chains. In any production related to food, pharmaceuticals or dietary supplements, best practices are defined by the Food and Drug Administration in the Good Manufacturing Practice guidelines. Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines are applicable to extractors, cultivators, researchers, retailers and distributors in the hemp and cannabis industry. In this article we want to educate you on these best practices and guide you to designing a facility successfully. When federal laws for THC, CBD and other cannabinoids pass, expect to see GMP as a standard for businesses in the hemp extraction industry.
GMP Basics For Hemp Extraction
GMP in the CBD industry is all about ensuring the quality and consistency of products from a given industry. By following GMP guidelines, professionals in the hemp and cannabis industry meet a much higher quality of health standards in their products, business outcomes, innovation and have the ability to ensure the satisfaction of customers. By working with the leading GMP experts in other industries, C1D1 Labs is able to prevent downtime in our client’s facilities when these standards are implemented. GMP standards can also help land larger contracts with more reputable buyers.
Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) guidelines indicate that standards have changed and developed over time. Implementing cGMP guidelines in the cannabis industry is all about acknowledging the changes to GMP that happen as time in the hemp extraction industry goes by and moving forward with better practices that are designed to optimize business practices, create a safer working environment, improve supply chains and raise product quality standards.
GMP and cGMP guidelines are developed by the FDA for anything related to foods or pharmaceuticals, but the FDA does not currently have any guidelines specific to the cannabis and hemp industry. Without guidance from the FDA, the development of health and quality guidelines is left to state lawmakers and business owners. However, when experts in the food, dietary supplement, and pharmaceutical industries work together with the C1D1 Labs experienced extraction engineers, we can create infrastructure to get your company prepared.
GMP and cGMP guidelines in the extraction industry are designed to ensure comprehensive and uniform quality standards. Here are some of the aspects of the production process that GMP and cGMP guidelines are designed to address:
- Materials
- Processing facilities
- Equipment
- Warehousing
- Documentation and record keeping
- Workplace health, safety and sanitation
- Product development
- Quality testing
GMP in cannabis extraction
GMP and cGMP guidelines are crucial for the health, safety and quality of hemp and cannabis products that reach consumers. Unfortunately, the fact that cannabis is illegal on the federal level in the United States has left a void in the industry when it comes to uniform standards of quality. The FDA has developed robust guidelines addressing various aspects of production, distribution and development in the food and pharmaceutical industries, but the hemp and cannabis industry has not received the same level of guidance from the federal level. As a result, most GMP guidelines for hemp and cannabis are focused on testing.
While testing is crucial for meeting high standards of quality, testing alone is not sufficient to optimize the safety of products and the satisfaction of customers. Testing is a reactive process and, as such, it is insufficient to prevent unsafe or low-quality products from reaching the market. What’s more, relying too heavily on testing can drive up costs significantly for small extraction businesses. When quality control is handled primarily or solely through testing, it concentrates GMP and cGMP costs on specific businesses and can still leave room for unsafe products to slip through the cracks.
The future of GMP for cannabis and hemp
At a time when the cannabis and hemp industry is changing and developing incredibly rapidly, it is more important than ever for the CBD extraction industry professionals to implement GMP and cGMP practices. Getting ahead of the requirements is a veteran play for business owners. Making sure that downtime doesn’t exist while architects, engineers, consultants, and equipment manufacturers work together to re-engineer a facility to compliance.
The GMP requirments in the CBD extraction industry will be expensive and intensive for smaller start ups. C1D1 Labs predicts that companies who don’t get ahead of this will potentially fall behind. Creating an opportunity for those who are ready.
Best practices in extraction and processing
To implement best practices in the hemp and cannabis industry, it’s essential for extraction professionals to take a proactive approach to GMP and cGMP. While federal guidelines and uniform standards are lacking, there are several best practice guidelines for extractors to follow to ensure consistency, quality, safety and customer satisfaction.
A good place to start is understanding your requirements. Regulations and requirements for extraction facilities can vary widely from place to place on the state, county and municipal level. Most importantly it depends on the final product and it’s intended use. It’s essential to understand the relevant requirements for your product and intended use to ensure the compliance of your facility. Consulting with professional engineers and compliance professionals is the best way to achieve compliance with as little guesswork as possible. Mistakes are timely, expensive, and can cost contracts.
Choose GMP compliant extraction equipment. Equipment makes all the difference in quality, volume and compliance in extraction facilities. Extraction and processing equipment is not one-size-fits all and it’s essential to select equipment based on your specific facility. An engineer who specializes in compliance and extraction lab design can provide you with facility-specific equipment recommendations to maximize production, improve quality and minimize downtime. Equipment will be required to have manuals, clean in place standards, and the right build material to meet GMP requirements in the CBD industry.
Optimizing your lab with good manufacturing practices in mind is also a vital factor for meeting compliance. The design of your CBD extraction lab affects product flow compliance, safety, minimization of contamination for a higher quality and health standard. Optimizing lab design offers numerous benefits, but many extractors miss out on these advantages due to inefficiencies in lab layouts that aren’t prepared by professional engineers with GMP experence. For the best lab design, and the highest quality products, design and engineering services from experts in the extraction industry are essential.
CBD Engineering and compliance services
If you’re looking to optimize your extraction facility with help from compliance experts and professional engineers, reach out to C1D1 Labs. We offer comprehensive engineering, compliance and equipment consultation services to optimize lab design, ensure compliance and improve production standards for extraction facilities of all shapes and sizes. Contact us to get started with more information about our services and equipment.