Cannabis Licence Holder Quality and Compliance Readiness (Canada)
Test each lot before sale, have your QA person approve it and run a documented recall simulation at least every 12 months.
In Short
- QA person approves each lot.
- Test THC and CBD in final form.
- Recall simulation every 12 months.
The Cannabis and Hemp Guide
Authorised inputs. Tested batches. Packs that meet your market's rules.
- Which rules reach your product
- Supplier to vault
- Extract, formulate, test, approve
We ask for your name and email so we can handle this request. The full guide then opens on this site, ready to translate, print or save. Privacy policy. Practical orientation, not legal advice; your quality unit decides which rules apply.
UltimateFree guide
The Cannabis and Hemp Guide
Authorised inputs. Tested batches. Packs that meet your market's rules.
Federal licence holders in Canada follow the Cannabis Regulations, SOR/2018-144, current to 21 September 2026 on the Justice Laws site. Part 5 sets good production practices, testing rules and quality assurance duties. Other parts cover recall, packaging and labelling, and records. This guide covers those duties for processors and cultivators. Provincial retail rules, security clearances, excise duty and medical sales are outside it. Orientation, not legal advice. Sources checked 4 Oct 2026.
Good Production Practices
Part 5 sets good production practices. Section 82 requires cannabis and ingredients to be stored under conditions that maintain quality, and section 83 sets the same for distribution.
More on good Production Practices
Section 84 requires buildings used for production, packaging, labelling, storage or testing to be designed, built and maintained for sanitary conditions. Section 87 requires a sanitation program covering cleaning of buildings, equipment and conveyances, handling of substances, and personnel health and hygiene. Section 81 limits pest control products to those registered or authorised for use on cannabis under the Pest Control Products Act.
Quality Assurance Person
Section 19 requires a processing licence holder to retain one individual as quality assurance person with training, experience and technical knowledge of the applicable Part 5 and Part 6 requirements, and another individual where edible cannabis expertise is lacking. Section 88(1) requires investigations to run under that person's responsibility, methods and procedures to be approved by them before implementation, and, for extracts and edibles, the preventive control plan to be approved by them.
Before a lot is sold (ss.88-91)
More on quality Assurance Person
Section 88(1)(e) requires every lot or batch to be approved by the quality assurance person before it is made available for sale.
Testing Before Sale
Section 89 bars selling or exporting a cannabis product unless the testing requirements of sections 90 to 92 are met. Section 90 requires testing of THC, THCA, CBD and CBDA on each lot or batch that is or will become a cannabis product, done on the final form, before or after packaging.
More on testing Before Sale
Section 91 requires testing for microbial and chemical contaminants on the lots described there, with timing rules in section 91(2). Section 88.94 requires extract and edible processors to keep a written preventive control plan. Keep certificates of analysis linked to each lot so release decisions can be checked.
Recall Readiness
Section 46(1) requires holders, other than analytical testing licence holders, to maintain a system of control that permits the rapid and complete recall of every lot or batch sold or distributed. Section 46(2) requires a recall simulation at least once every 12 months, a document setting out how it was done and the results, and retention of that document for at least two years.
Worked Example: Recall Simulation RS-2026
- StartTeam picks dried flower lot DF-0419 sold last quarter
- +2 hHarvest, drying and packaging lots traced
- +4 hAll customers and quantities listed
- +1 dayMethod and results documented; gaps assigned
- +2 yearsEarliest disposal of the document
More on recall Readiness
Lot genealogy from harvest or received cannabis through production, packaging and sale makes the simulation meaningful. People run the simulation and judge whether the result is adequate.
Inventory Records and Labels
Sections 224 to 226 require documents for each lot: cultivation and harvest dates and weights, production dates and net weights for extracts, topicals and edibles with the input lots used, and details of cannabis obtained from others. Many of these documents are retained for at least two years.
More on inventory Records and Labels
Section 123 lists label content, including the processor's name, telephone and email, the class of cannabis and the brand name and lot number. Section 122 limits bar codes to one or two per container, printed in black and white. Check the full packaging and labelling Part before approving artwork.
Questions
Who approves a lot for sale?
The quality assurance person, before it is made available for sale (section 88(1)(e)).
What testing is required before sale?
THC, THCA, CBD and CBDA on each relevant lot in its final form (section 90), plus microbial and chemical contaminant testing as set out in section 91. Section 89 bars sale until these are met.
How often must we simulate a recall?
At least once every 12 months, with a document of the method and results kept for at least two years (section 46(2)).
Does this guide cover provincial rules?
No. Provincial and territorial retail and distribution rules apply separately and were not reviewed.
Practical orientation, not legal advice. Rules differ by jurisdiction; your quality and compliance team decides what applies.
Keep reading
Global Cannabis Quality & Compliance Readiness Guide
Cannabis Labelling and Child-Resistant Packaging Readiness
Cannabis Laboratory Testing and CoA Readiness Guide
US Cannabis State GMP Readiness for Multi-State Operators
Cannabis Traceability and Recall Readiness: Lots, Labs and State Systems
EU GMP for Medicinal Cannabis: GACP, Annex 7 and Herbal Starting Materials