• Food/Beverage
  • Wine/Beer/Spirits
  • Cannabis
  • Supply Chain
    • More Perishables
  • Hispanic Market Focus
  • Resources
    • About Supply Chain Sparrow
    • C.E.O. Insights
    • Contact Us
    • E-news Sign-up
    • Inspiration
    • Privacy Policy
    • SCSparrow Custom
    • Winging It! News Bites Podcast
  • VinRoutes Wine Supply Chain Summit 2020 – 2021
  • Advertise with SCSparrow

VinRoutes Wine Supply Chain Summit 2020 – 2021

  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Supply Chain Sparrow –Supply Chain News and Resources

The Perishables Ecosystem –Food, Wine, Cannabis & More

Molecular Tagging Takes Cannabis Tracking & Tracing to the Next Level

Lara L. Sowinski · August 2020 ·

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email

The legal cannabis industry relies on a variety of software and technology tools to verify the provenance, integrity and safety of products, as well as meet numerous regulatory compliance requirements.

Molecular tagging, which is akin to small DNA fragments that can be used as a “molecular barcode,” is helping advance tracking and tracing in cannabis supply chain. 

New York-based Applied DNA Sciences’ molecular tags (brand name SigNature) can be applied to cannabis plants, oils, lotions, edibles, and even packaging. The molecular tag is invisible to the naked eye and completely safe to ingest, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

“If it’s [molecular tag] being applied to flower, a fogging method is used to fog a designated room or drying room. If it’s being applied to oils or isolates by a processor, it is mixed into the batches at the later stage of the process,” according to a company spokesperson. 

The company’s technology platform, CertainT, allows supply chain stakeholders to verify provenance and chain-of-custody from origin to retailer. 

“All tagging, testing and tracking data is easily captured in the secure portal and can also be connected to other industry platforms, such as seed-to-sale systems, ERPs, QMS and a host of others through APIs,” noted the company. “Creating an ecosystem that complements one another benefits all cannabis companies, global government entities, and especially the end consumers who will now have true transparency from the brands they support and a sense of safety and trust in the products they consume.”  

According to Applied DNA Sciences, molecular tagging provides multiple benefits, including: 

  • Brand protection
  • Raw material traceability
  • Consumer transparency 
  • Risk mitigation
  • Regulatory compliance
  • Customer safety
  • Brand differentiation
  • Import/Export validation and compliance
  • Forensic evidence in case of legal actions
  • Incoming/outgoing product sourcing validation between buyers and sellers

Filed Under: Cannabis Tagged With: cannabis, compliance, supplychain

Primary Sidebar

I VOTED (for cannabis)

No matter their political stripe, many Americans are in agreement with efforts to legalize recreational and medical cannabis.

On November 3, voters legalized marijuana for adult use in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota. Initiatives to legalize medical cannabis passed in Mississippi and South Dakota. The rapid expansion of legalized cannabis throughout the U.S. has a direct impact on the supply chain.

Let’s start by considering the food supply chain–a valuable case study with COVID-19 as the backdrop. Early on, Americans experienced food shortages at the retail level. Manufacturers and distributors scrambled to realign networks to supply grocery stores where demand was spiking, while shifting away from restaurants and the hospitality sector where demand was tanking. In a matter of months, online shopping and food delivery to consumers’ homes grew dramatically. As a result, the food supply chain is in the midst of reinventing itself.

The cannabis supply chain faces some similar challenges. Most importantly, there’s an opportunity now to learn and adopt best practices from the food and pharmaceutical supply chains with which it shares key commonalities.

What are the risks to the cannabis supply chain? California’s unprecedented fires this year threatened growers throughout the state. How quickly can infrastructure scale-up to meet demand, and at what cost? Commercial and industrial real estate is currently at a premium with the proliferation of e-commerce. What about transportation, distribution and logistics capabilities, including reverse logistics in the case of product recalls? Facilities, equipment, and skilled workers are in high demand, and as competition for these various assets tightens, what does that mean for the entire perishables sector (food, cannabis, wine, beverages, pharma, etc.) that need them? Collaboration and creativity can provide critical solutions across the board.

On a related note, a small handful of American and European companies are in talks with Rwanda now about exporting cannabis to the country to meet rising pharmaceutical demand. Supply Chain Sparrow has previously identified cannabis exports as a massive opportunity for the U.S., which of course, would require legislative changes at the federal level.

Vote. And keep on voting.

Be Brave. Fly Right. And keep in touch at info@scsparrow.com.

Lara L. Sowinski, Executive Editor

UPCOMING EVENT: Navigating Wine Logistics in a New World

VinRoutes Wine Supply Chain Summit 2020 – 2021

Join Alejandro MacCawley Vergara for our VinRoutes Summit 2020

Press Release: Digital Media Brand “Supply Chain Sparrow” Launches

E-news Sign-up

Supply Chain Sparrow Newsletter

Podcast: News Bites & Insights

featured cover art

Cannabis in Deutschland!

Podcast: Play in new window

Germany is the biggest market for medical cannabis outside of North America. Companies in Canada, and even the U.S., are eyeing opportunities.

Subscribe to Podcast

Google PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options

C.E.O. Insights: Eden Amirav, C.E.O. of Become

C.E.O. Insights

4 Ways Transportation and Shipping SMBs Can Get Back on Track After COVID-19

Logistics companies can emerge stronger post-pandemic by focusing on digitalization, creating new vendor partnerships and relationships, and getting lean, according to Eden Amirav, C.E.O. and co-founder of Become.

INSPIRATION

OFF THE EARTH WITH NASA

WE ARE BETTER WITH BACH

Support Netherlands Bach Society https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en

More Inspiration

Recent Posts

  • Now is the Time for Food Manufacturers to Embrace Digitalization Technologies
  • Q&A With Diageo On 2020 Sustainability Goals, Commitment to Diversity
  • Cheers to Robot Supported Happy Hours
  • Molecular Tagging Takes Cannabis Tracking & Tracing to the Next Level
  • Convenience Stores Pivot to Meet New Consumer Demands

Need Some Air? Contact Us

sparrow-contacts

Supply Chain Sparrow

1001 SW Emkay Dr., Suite 100
Bend, Oregon 97702

1 (408) 792-7005

TOPICS

Resources & Assets

  • SCSparrow Mission
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with SCSparrow
    • Privacy Policy
  • Resources
  • SCSparrow Custom
  • Training & Certification
  • E-news Sign-up
  • Subscribe to Podcast
  • About Supply Chain Sparrow
  • VinRoutes Wine Supply Chain Summit 2020 – 2021

Tags

AI automation black market cannabis Canada cannabis cannabis compliance China climate change cold chain compliance conveniencestore coronavirus demandsensing Diageo digital supply chain Diversity Excise Tax financing foodservice foodsupplychain Germany GMP IOT Iron Apple Latin Trade legal cannabis manufacturing maquiladoras NAFTA Perishables ports quality management system reshoring robots Supply Chain supplychain Supply Chain News Supply Chain Talent Sustainability tracking and tracing USMCA wineindustry

Make Your Advertising Spend an Investment

logo for Supply Chain Sparrow

Advertise with SCSparrow

SCSparrow Archives

Footer

FLY BACK HOME

home-button

Copyright © 2021 • supply chain sparrow • Subscribe • privacy policy