WOODFORD COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18)– As the hemp industry booms in Kentucky, laboratories are working to keep up with testing the product. A local lab was just accredited for consistently delivering valid test results.
As the harvest approaches, Fouser Environmental Services is preparing for an influx of hemp.
“Before they can sell their product, they have to have that information from us,” said Fouser Environmental Services President Nancy Fouser.
The Versailles-based lab takes hemp samples and determines two very important things. They determine how much CBD is in the hemp, which farmers want a high percentage of, and the second thing they determine is the THC levels, which is the compound that can cause a high. By law, that number needs to be under .3%.
“Hemp naturally does not have that much, and you don’t want to have any kind of product that’s mixed and so on and so forth,” said Fouser.
After the lab determines these numbers, the hemp can be used to make all sorts of CBD items, from lotions to gummy bears.
The Fouser lab does admit it is hard to keep up with it all. With little government regulations to follow, it is up to the lab to figure out ways to test accurately. The lab takes the task seriously and was just accredited by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation, which is difficult to get.
“It also gives us international accreditation,” said Fouser.
Right now, it is the only lab in Kentucky to have this, and the lab says that it reassures people that the hemp tested here is in fact what it is labeled.
