MICHIGAN - RESOURCES

Ziel has increased interest from Michigan cultivators, and we want to highlight the State’s market to illustrate why Radio Frequency, specifically Ziel’s approach, works well with Michigan’s regulatory framework.

Ziel is a leading developer of Radio Frequency (“RF”) equipment for the reduction of microbial pathogens.  The food and cannabis industries across North America, Europe, South America, and Australia utilize RF technology to safely remediate products intended for human consumption or ingestion.  Ziel’s devices utilize non-ionizing radiation to pasteurize products like almonds, cashews, macadamias, sesame and chia.

The RF technology has been adapted for the cannabis industry to successfully remediate bacterial and fungal pathogens.  These devices help Michigan cannabis cultivators ensure that they are providing a safe product that meets the highest safety and quality standards.  Moreover, Ziel’s technology allows licensees to satisfy these standards through a method that is compatible with the requirements for organic certification.

Michigan has legalized both recreational and medical use but has set different microbial passing thresholds for each segment. As of July 1, 2021:

Recreational limits for cannabis flower, shake, trim and kief:

  • TYMC <100,000 CFU/g
  • Total Coliform <1,000 CFU/g
  • Mycotoxin < 20 ug/Kg of Substance
  • (STEC) coli not detected in 1g
  • Salmonella not detected in 1g
  • Aspergillus (niger, flavus, fumigatus, terreus) not detected in 1g

Medical limits for cannabis flower, shake and trim:

  • TYMC <10,000 CFU/g
  • Total Coliform <1,000 CFU/g
  • Mycotoxin < 20 ug/Kg of Substance
  • (STEC) coli not detected in 1g
  • Salmonella not detected in 1g
  • Aspergillus (niger, flavus, fumigatus, terreus) not detected in 1g

In spring of 2021, the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) discontinued qPCR testing methodology for TYMC and coliforms, requiring labs to use plating technique as the testing standard. This lead to increased failures by many growers who had previously been passing microbial testing.

Cultivators in Michigan have a few options when faced with flower that has failed testing. Contaminated cannabis flower can be processed into concentrate, which reduces the wholesale value of the product or alternatively, remediate cannabis flower with an approved technology, such as Radio Frequency.

One of the reason’s Michigan’s regulatory framework is unique is due to their having a recreational and medicinal market. A common question we hear from cultivators is “Will we pass microbial testing using the APEX 7”.  Ziel can assuredly respond that treatment with Radio Frequency is proven to reduce Total Yeast and Mold Count (TYMC) by more than 99.9% and comply with regulatory requirements. Which in Michigan’s case is under 10,000 CFU/g for Medical; a threshold Ziel is very accomplished in meeting. Radio Frequency is also effective in addressing other testing criteria such as Total Aerobic Microbial Count (TAMC), Bile-Tolerant Gram-Negative (BTGN), Coliforms, Salmonella and Aspergillus.

While there are various remediation solutions in the market, Ziel’s patented remediation technology using Radio Frequency, is becoming the industry standard. The APEX 7 uses Radio Frequency which is a thermal, non-ionizing irradiation process. X-Ray, E-Beam, and gamma radiation are all ionizing technologies that use high energy to change the product on the molecular level. Use of ionizing technology to process cannabis will disqualify you from organic claims. Our customers choose to work with the APEX 7 because Radio Frequency is a gentle process, safe for users and operators, and are supported with Ziel’s customer service.

Ziel’s financial calculator allows you to input your own assumptions, and determine how much the APEX 7 will save your business remediating your product.  The model looks at the percentage of product you are currently failing, and bringing that into regulatory compliance.   Michigan’s recreational value for 1 LB of flower ranges between $2,500 - $3,000 with trim selling at a deep discounted price of $500. The snapshot below shows the savings a cultivator will accrue within the first year using the APEX 7.

APEX also has the largest throughput of any technology on the market today, allowing you to scale your business operations.

Clean cannabis technology is a vital safeguard as regulations are only becoming stricter. Ensuring your harvest passes microbial testing increases your top line revenue, and optimizes your financial returns, improving your bottom line.  Incorporating remediation into your post-harvest SOPs streamlines operations, avoiding costly retesting, discounting product, and getting your product out the door quicker.

Contact the Ziel team to learn more about our innovative cannabis processing system for Michigan based growers.