Spain: CTAEX receives certification for cannabis and hemp analysis

The National Center for Agro-Food Technology (CTAEX) received accreditation from the Spanish National Accreditation Entity (ENAC) to analyze medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp. The ceremony took place last week in the press room of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, Population and Territory of the Junta de Extremadura, and was attended by the general director of Community Agrarian Policy (PAC), Javier Gonzalo, and the director from CTAEX, José Luis Llerena.

With accreditation, the CTAEX laboratory will now be able to analyze the various existing products, from medicinal cannabis flower to oil, extract and flower for industrial hemp, being the first laboratory in Spain with this accreditation in all areas.

This certification establishes the technical competence requirements of testing laboratories. CTAEX becomes one of the recognized laboratories to offer quality assurance, thus becoming:
– First in Spain in the quantitative analysis test by HPLC for medicinal cannabis flower;
– First in the private sector in the HPLC quantitative analysis test for industrial hemp flower;
– First in HPLC quantitative analysis assay for industrial hemp derivatives: industrial hemp oil and extract.

The general director of PAC reiterated support in the search for complementary crops to tobacco, such as industrial hemp, and the importance of having this laboratory in Extremadura. He recalled the creation of the Hemp Technological Pole, with the support of the Ministry, to give visibility to this culture, which has an important future. The aim is to cultivate and process hemp in the region, for which a pilot project is being carried out with CETARSA.

Javier Gonzalo explained that this crop fits very well into the Community Agrarian Policy of aid related to integral production and eco-regimes and highlighted that in Extremadura they are working on the standard of integrated production of hemp cultivation so that it can grow with the tobacco.

For his part, José Luis Llerena thanked the Board for its support and commitment to the implementation of hemp in Extremadura, noting that an exciting sector is opening up in the community, thanks to its cultivation and processing, which will generate added value for employment and the economy. Throughout the process, CTAEX was assisted by the Quality Services Office (GSC).