ASTM D8197-18
(Specification)Standard Specification for Maintaining Acceptable Water Activity (aw) Range (0.55 to 0.65) for Dry Cannabis Flower
Standard Specification for Maintaining Acceptable Water Activity (<emph type="ital">a<inf >w</inf></emph>) Range (0.55 to 0.65) for Dry Cannabis Flower
SCOPE
1.1 This specification covers the recommended range of aw suitable for safe and efficacious storage of cannabis flowers or portions thereof.
1.2 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
1.3 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.
General Information
Standards Content (Sample)
NOTICE: This standard has either been superseded and replaced by a new version or withdrawn.
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Designation:D8197 −18
Standard Specification for
Maintaining Acceptable Water Activity (a ) Range (0.55 to
w
1
0.65) for Dry Cannabis Flower
This standard is issued under the fixed designation D8197; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
INTRODUCTION
The concept of water activity is more than 50 years old. For many years, researchers tried to equate
bacterial growth potential with water content. William Jones Scott showed in 1953 that microorgan-
2
isms have a limiting a level for growth, thus being the first to establish that bacterial growth
w
correlated with water activity, not water content of organic materials. It is now generally accepted that
a is more closely related to the microbial, chemical, and physical properties of foods and other
w
3
natural products than is total moisture. It is firmly established that growth of specific microbes and
4,5
metabolism of microbe associated toxins are inhibited at or below specific water activity values.
Totalwatercontent(moisture)measurementsdonotnecessarilyreflectwateravailableformicrobial
growth and thus are an inaccurate means for controlling microbial growth, because the water content
sufficientformicrobialgrowthisdependentonthesubstancebeingtested.Wateractivitymeasurement
is more accurate than total water content measurement as it relates directly to the water available (in
liquid form) to microbes and is constant relative to the particular microbe, regardless of the substance
being tested.
1. Scope ization established in the Decision on Principles for the
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recom-
1.1 This specification covers the recommended range of a
w
mendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical
suitable for safe and efficacious storage of cannabis flowers or
Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.
portions thereof.
1.2 This standard does not purport to address all of the
2. Referenced Documents
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the
6
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro- 2.1 ASTM Standards:
priate safety, health, and environmental practices and deter- D8196 Practice for Determination of Water Activity (a )in
w
mine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. Cannabis Flower
1.3 This international standard was developed in accor-
dance with internationally recognized principles on standard- 3. Terminology
3.1 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:
3.1.1 water activity, a ,n—the partial vapor pressure of
1
w
This specification is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D37 on
CannabisandisthedirectresponsibilityofSubcommitteeD37.04onProcessingand water in a substance divided by the partial vapor pressure of
Handling.
pure water at the same temperature which is calculated by
Current edition approved May 15, 2018. Published May 2018. DOI: 10.1520/
dividingthepartialvaporpressureofwaterinthesubstance(P)
D8197-18
2
by the partial vapor pressure of pure water at the same
Scott,W.J.,WaterrelationsofStaphylococcusaureusat30°. Australian Journal
of Biological Sciences6, 1953, pp 549-564.
temperature (P ), i.e., a = P/(P ). This describes quantita-
o w o
3
Chirife, J. and Fontana, A. J. (2007) Introduction: Historical Highlights of
tivelythecapabilityofthecannabisflowerinasealedcontainer
Water Activity Research, in Water Activity in Foods: Fundamentals and Applica-
to affect the humidity of the container’s headspace air.
tions (eds G. V. Barbosa-Cánovas, A. J. Fontana, S. J. Schmidt and T. P. Labuza),
Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford, UK. doi: 10.1002/9780470376454.ch1
4
Russell, N.J., Leistner, L., and Gould, G.W. Solutes and Low WaterActivity in
Food Preservatives ed N.J. Russell and G.W. Gould, Springer 2012, pp119ff.
5 6
Naresh Magan, David Aldred, Post-harvest control strategies: Minimizing For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
mycotoxins in the food chain, International Journal of Food Microbiology, Volume contact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM
119, Issues 1–2, 2007, Pages 131-139, ISSN 0168-1605, https://doi.org/10.1016/ Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on
j.ijfoodmicro.2007.07.034. the ASTM website.
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D8197−18
4. Significance and Use 5. Testing
4.1 This specification is designed for use on cannabis flower 5.1 Refer to Practice D8196.
by cannabis producers, processors, disp
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