FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Remediation is the act of temporarily neutralizing mold and other contaminants found in poor-quality material, using methods like ozone and irradiation, in order to make the product saleable and pass testing. ​ While Remediation has been around for decades in other industries, it has only been recently introduced into the cannabis and hemp industry; creating a variety of unintended challenges and issues for regulators and consumers.

At a high level, the challenge presented to cannabis & hemp when Remediating with most of these technologies is two-fold: ​ 1. When Remediating flower that has been contaminated, whatever is killed or inhibited is unable to be removed from raw flower. This means these dead organism, exoskeletons, et, are left in the end product; unfit for smoking or consuming in general. ​ 2. Most technologies only kill some of the mold, inhibiting the rest and putting it into a dormant state. This is usually OK for things like produce, which only has a shelf life of a couple weeks. Unfortunately, with cannabis and hemp, often the final product sits on shelves for months before it's sold, and this inhibited mold comes back; causing failed labs once retested, and unsafe product in general. This reality has been shown by recalls throughout multiple states, since these newer technologies introduction to the industry. ​ Besides these challenges, additional issues of diminished cannabinoid and terpene levels have been reported since the introduction of Remediation, from both growers and labs.

Certified Remediation Free, Social Purpose Corporation (CRF) believes everyone has the right to know what they’re purchasing and consuming in the regulated Recreational (AU) and Medical Cannabis Markets. As a mission-driven Social Purpose Corporation, CRF is committed to preserving and building sources of Remediation-Free Products, educating consumers, and providing Certified Remediation Free choices. We offer the most trusted, third-party verification program for Remediation Free Cannabis products, validated by licensed, independent laboratories. CRF’s Brand Verification Program was created in 2024, after learning about the impacts of remediation on the industry: including the lack of disclosure on packaged goods, or awareness about which brands were even remediating in the first place. Today, Certified Remediation Frees Symbol is recognizable to customers and buyers throughout the country, and has quickly become one of the fastest-growing and most trusted symbols for consumers and retailers alike!

At a high level, we focus on three key pillars: 1. Providing an independent, third-party verified certification for licensed growers and brands that are dedicated to not remediating their products. 2. Providing resources and insight to independent laboratories, in order to perform research and publish studies on the effects of remediation. 3. Providing all supporting educational resources necessary to help inform and expand awareness for consumers, regulators, and manufacturers. As a Social Purpose Corporation, we're held to similar expectations as nonprofits, and are committed to reinvesting 100% of our inspection fee's to our mission.

We charge a flat-rate, annual fee for verifying a brand is Remediation free. This fee goes entirely to our operational expenses, outlined below and filed in our annual report: -50% goes directly to our lab partners, who provide the inspection and validation services for CRF. -50% goes directly to our employees, including paying their salaries to manage our administrative and business development costs, marketing and research expenses.

The easiest way to get started is by emailing us at contact@CertifiedRemediationfree.org, or by utilizing our new brand form! You may also contact one of our Technical Administrators, who will begin the same process.

We've created a helpful document named our "Brand Verification Guide", which walks new Brand participants through the onboarding process: including each step and the requirements to get certified. We encourage you to read the PDF, and if you have any questions, please reach out to us or your Technical Administrator!

Before using our symbol, companies must go through a third party verification process against our Standard, performed by at Technical Administrators Once successfully onboard, all Certified Brands are allowed to use our logo on any and all packaged goods and marketing/messaging, as long as it conforms to our trademark use guide and licensing contract. Certified Remediation Free provides a Trademark Licensing Agreement during the verification process, going over the ways in which you can use our symbol, likeness, and messaging.

Before it was introduced to cannabis five years ago, commercial growers throughout all regulated adult use/rec and medical markets have been growing incredible cannabis without the need to remediate. While having your cured flower fail testing is never fun, you do not have to remediate your cannabis with Ozone, Radiation, or any forms of post-harvest remediation, in order to salvage your harvest. Whenever a batch failed testing, cultivators have a variety of options available to them to ensure they don't just have to destroy their harvest. Besides immediately identifying the root cause of the failed testing, cultivators and brands often send their failed flower for processing into concentrates or other goods. This allows them to avoid having to destroy their product, or find other ways of salvaging this material. Either way, brands who bear the CRF Verified Symbol and are dedicated to their program, are never able to remediate their flower (or have another party do it), at any point in the cultivation or post-cultivation process.