Hydropothecary has notified the media that it sent out notice to their patients and shareholders of a voluntary Type III recall of cannabis products in August due to what they are calling a technical non-compliance issue.

The company says there is no harm to health associated with the recall and any product sold was safe, and have taken steps to ensure their patients have the option of a full refund.

The recall was initiated after the use of the unapproved brand was noticed by Health Canada in August. After investigation, it was determined by the regulator to be a Type III recall, requiring no broader public notice beyond any impacted patients/consumers.

Dr. Shane Morris, VP, Quality Assurance and Scientific Affairs at Hydropothecary, says the recall was due to use of the wrong brand of a type of sulphur used as a preventive measure in greenhouse growing for mildew. While one brand, Agrotek, is approved under the ACMPR, the brand Hydropothecary mistakenly ordered and used on their plants was a product made by another company, Bartlett’s, which is not yet specifically approved for use on cannabis.

Both Bartlett’s and Agrotek list it as approved for various foods such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and strawberries.

Both products are elemental sulphur and very common in organic food production, Morris explains, but the brand mistakenly used has yet to receive approval from the federal Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) .

Morris says this case highlights the difference between a mandatory public health recall and a technical non compliance, considering sulphur is naturally occurring in all cannabis. It also highlights the strict regulatory nature of Health Canada’s ACMPR in general, he points out.

“We were non-compliant due to a human error, we took action around non-compliance and put systems in place so this will never happen again,” Morris told Lift. “We reached out to all 479 people within 72 hours, we provided all test results to those customers, we provided all the certificates of analysis showing all our product still passed all safety testing. There are no harmful residue levels from sulphur known, and this product is approved for organic food production.”

Hydropothecary contacted Lift today in an effort to be fully transparent in this issue considering the recent confusion regarding recalls, and to share the process with the public, patients, and those who follow the industry. Their contact to their patients and shareholders can be seen in this PDF link.