Backed by a decade of use in the global food industry, APEX helps ensure regulatory compliance while maximizing cannabis market value
(PRESS RELEASE) SAN FRANCISCO—Ziel, a food safety solutions company with proven technology utilized across the globe, has launched a new cannabis division to help medium and large-scale cultivators, processors, and distributors achieve regulatory compliance while maximizing product market value. Ziel’s chemical-free, organic technology reduces total yeast and mold count in cannabis while retaining potency and terpenes.
Ziel’s APEX technology is currently being used by Los Suenos Farms, the largest outdoor cannabis farm in the country, and The Green Solution, a vertically integrated retailer, cultivator and processor of cannabis flower with 13 locations in Colorado.
Offering custom solutions using radio frequency (RF) technology and hand-crafted machine design, Ziel’s APEX ensures that total yeast and mold count present in cannabis falls within U.S. state regulatory guidelines of less than 10,000 colony-forming unit (cfu) per gram. Ziel’s patent pending technology achieves this challenging target while retaining high potency and preserving terpenes using an efficient and organic treatment method free of chemicals. Mold and yeast count levels that rise beyond regulatory compliance will not only fail regulatory guidelines, but can pose a consumer health risk, as well as jeopardize a company’s brand identity, market pricing power, and enterprise value.
“The ideal growing environment for cannabis is also the ideal growing environment for yeast and mold, making mold an issue for any indoor or outdoor cultivator,” explains Ketch DeGabrielle, cannabis consultant and former operations manager at Los Suenos Farms, the largest outdoor grow facility in the United States. “After exhaustively testing every disinfection option on the market, we found that Ziel’s radio frequency technology was the most effective and reliable method in removing contaminants while retaining the integrity of the plant.”
Using APEX is a turnkey solution with no chemicals or waste. Up to 20 pounds of cannabis is placed in a box with probes to monitor temperature in real time, then placed in the RF cavity for 10 minutes process time. By creating an oscillating electromagnetic field at 27.12 MHz between two electrodes, any product containing polar molecules, such as water, will oscillate when placed in this field. The rapid internal gyration of molecules generates heat volumetrically, which then, based on Ziel’s proprietary processing parameters, kills targeted contaminants, pasteurizing and disinfecting the raw material, making it safe for consumption or inhalation. Ziel’s APEX also comes with a CE mark, and the design is UL compliant. Another version of the APEX with a CSA mark, suitable for the Canadian market, will be available in the first quarter of 2018.
“We are excited to see the cannabis industry continue to grow and thrive, and we predict that regulation compliance will also continue to grow and change as the industry evolves,” explains Arthur de Cordova, co-founder of Ziel. “This solution allows cultivators to stay a step ahead of state regulatory organizations and reliably strengthen the bottom line and improve profits.”
Benefits of utilizing APEX to treat cannabis:
- Reduces TYMC to 10,000 cfu/g in one cycle with a starting count of up to 150,000 cfu/g
- Treats batch sizes between 3-20 pounds in less than 10 minutes
- Treats cannabis post-harvest, post-cure
- Organic and chemical-free process that is non-ionizing, non-irradiating, and non-oxidizing
- Zero THC loss or conversion
- Terpene retention of >95%
- Modifies moisture levels +/- 0.5%
- Proven technology successfully used for decades in the food industry
- Treats entire product, unlike surface disinfection methods
- Grows bottom line by reducing product price erosion
- Easy-to-use push button operation with pre-programmed processing formulation
- Monitors progress of processing in real-time
- Efficient electricity consumption; environmentally friendly
- Machine life expectancy of 20+ years with routine maintenance
To learn more about Ziel or APEX, please visit www.zielcannabis.com
About Ziel
Ziel is a food safety solutions company servicing the food and cannabis industries. Using radio frequency (RF) technology with APEX and microwave technology with SENTINEL, both product lines offer industrial-scale disinfection and disinfestation solutions for almonds and other tree nuts, various seeds, dates, prunes, and cannabis. APEX and SENTINEL systems employ chemical-free, organic, and non-polluting processes that have minimal impact on flavor and aroma. Ziel’s solutions are cost-effective, and are utilized by partners in the U.S.A., Australia, South America, and United Arab Emirates. Ziel’s corporate headquarters are located in San Francisco. To learn more about Ziel visit www.zielps.com or www.zielcannabis.com.
