Missouri regulators have issued a recall of cannabis products that failed required testing for Aspergillus, a fungal genus that includes several species capable of causing respiratory disease, MMJ Daily reported. The state's Division of Cannabis Regulation flagged the affected products after laboratory screening detected the contamination above allowable thresholds.
Aspergillus is one of the most common indoor molds and is routinely found in soil, decaying plant matter, and water-damaged buildings. While most healthy people inhale Aspergillus spores without consequence, the fungus can cause serious illness in immunocompromised patients and can colonize the lungs of people with underlying lung disease, producing the chronic pulmonary aspergillosis that has been the subject of recent clinical research.
Cannabis is particularly vulnerable to fungal contamination because flower is harvested, dried, and stored in conditions that can support mold growth if humidity and airflow are not tightly controlled. Several U.S. states with legal cannabis programs now require Aspergillus testing as part of their compliance regimes, and recalls of this type have grown more common as testing standards mature.