(a) “Acceptance criteria” means the specified limits placed on the characteristics of an item or method that are used to determine data quality.

(b) “Accreditation body” means an impartial non-profit organization that operates in conformance with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) / International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard 17011 and is a signatory to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) for Testing.

(c) “Accredited college or university” means a college or university accredited by a regional or national accrediting agency that is an accreditor recognized by the Secretary of the US Department of Education.

(d) “Action level” means the threshold value that provides the criterion for determining whether a sample passes or fails an analytical test.

(e) “Analyte” means a chemical, compound, element, bacteria, yeast, fungus, or toxin to be identified or measured.

(f) “Analytical batch” means a set of no more than 20 samples that is prepared together for the same analysis and are prepared with laboratory quality control (LQC) samples.

(g) “Analytical method” means a technique used qualitatively or quantitatively to determine the composition of a sample or a microbial contamination of a sample.

(h) “Analytical sequence” means a group of samples that are analyzed sequentially using the same instrument calibration curve.

(i) “Cannabinoid” means a class of diverse chemical compounds derived from a cannabis plant.

(j) “CAS number” means the unique numerical identifier assigned to every chemical substance by Chemical Abstracts Service, a division of the American Chemical Society.

(k) “CBDA” means cannabidiolic acid, CAS number 1244-58-2.

(l) “CBG” means cannabigerol, CAS number 25654-31-3.

(m) “CBN” means cannabinol, CAS number 521-35-7.

(n) “Certificate of accreditation” means a document issued by an accreditation body that attests to the laboratory's competence to carry out specific testing analysis.

(o) “Certified reference material” means a reference material in cannabis or similar non-cannabis matrix prepared at a known concentration by a certifying body or a party independent of the laboratory with ISO/IEC 17034 accreditation. The laboratory will calculate the percent recovery of the certified reference material based on measured concentration relative to the known concentration.

(p) “Chain of Custody” (COC) means the chronological documentation that records the sequence of custody, control, transfer, analysis, and disposal of a sample.

(q) “Coefficient of Determination” (commonly denoted as “r²”) means a statistical measure that determines how well the regression approximates the actual data points in the calibration curve, with a regression of 1 being a perfect fit.

(r) “Continuing calibration verification” (CCV) means a type of quality control sample that includes each of the target method analytes that is a mid-range calibration standard which checks the continued validity of the initial calibration of the instrument.

(s) “Corrective action” means an action taken by the laboratory to resolve, and prevent from recurrence, a problem with the technical operations of the laboratory.

(t) “Exclusivity” means the specificity of the test method for validating microbial testing methods. It evaluates the ability of the method to distinguish the target organisms from similar but genetically distinct non-target organisms.

(u) “Foreign material” means any filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance including hair, insects, excreta, or related adulterant that may be hazardous or cause illness or injury to the consumer.

(v) “Frequency” means the number of items occurring in each category. Frequency may be determined by analytical method or laboratory specific requirements for accuracy, precision of the analysis, or statistical calculation.

(w) “Good laboratory practice” (GLP) means a system of management controls for laboratories to ensure the uniformity, consistency, reliability, reproducibility, quality, and integrity of analyses performed by the testing laboratory.

(x) “Inclusivity” means, related to microbiological method validation, the sensitivity of the test method. It evaluates the ability of the test method to detect a wide range of target organisms by a defined relatedness.

(y) “Inhalable” means consumable through the lungs.

(z) “Initial Calibration Verification” (ICV) means a solution of each of the target method analytes of known concentration that is obtained from a source external to the laboratory and different from the source of calibration standards.

(aa) “ISO/IEC” means the joint technical committee of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

(bb) “ISO/IEC 17025” means the general requirements specified by the ISO/IEC for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.

(cc) “ISO/IEC 17034” means the general requirements established by the ISO/IEC for the competence of reference material producers.

(dd) “ISO/IEC 17043” means the general requirements established by the ISO/IEC for proficiency testing.

(ee) “Laboratory” means “testing laboratory” as defined at Business and Professions Code section 26001(av).

(ff) “Laboratory Control Sample” (LCS) means a blank matrix to which known concentrations of each of the target method analytes are added. The spiked concentration must be at a mid-range concentration of the calibration curve for the target analytes. The LCS is analyzed in the same manner as the representative sample.

(gg) “Laboratory replicate sample” means a sub-sample taken of the representative sample used for laboratory quality control purposes to demonstrate reproducibility. It is prepared and analyzed in the identical manner as the representative sample. The results from replicate analyses are used to evaluate analytical precision.

(hh) “Laboratory employee” means any person directly employed by the laboratory for wages, salary, barter, or trade by the laboratory and who is not employed by any other licensee under the Act except for another testing laboratory. “Laboratory employee” does not mean an independent contractor, third party entity, or any other entity acting on behalf of the laboratory.

(ii) “Laboratory quality assurance” means the set of operating principles that enable laboratories to produce defensible data of known accuracy and precision and includes employee training, equipment preventative maintenance procedures, calibration procedures, and quality control testing, among other things.

(jj) “Limit of detection” (LOD) means the lowest quantity of a substance or analyte that can be distinguished from the absence of that substance within a stated confidence limit.

(kk) “Limit of quantitation” (LOQ) means the minimum concentration of an analyte in a specific matrix that can be reliably quantified while also meeting predefined goals for bias and imprecision.

(ll) “Linear regression” means the determination, in analytical chemistry, of the best linear equation for calibration data to generate a calibration curve. The concentrate of an analyte in a sample can then be determined by comparing a measurement of the unknown to the calibration curve. A linear regression uses the following equation:

(mm) “Matrix” means the substances that are present in a sample except for the analyte(s) of interest.

(nn) “Matrix spike sample” means a sample prepared by adding a known quantity of each of the target analyte to a sample matrix or to a matrix that is as closely representative of the matrix being analyzed as possible. The spiked concentration must be at a mid-range concentration of the calibration curve for the target analytes.

(oo) “Method Blank” means an analyte free matrix to which all reagents are added in the same volumes or proportions as used in the sample preparation and is processed in exactly the same manner as the samples.

(pp) “Moisture content” means the percentage of water in a sample, by weight.

(qq) “Non-target organism” means an organism that the test method or analytical procedure is not testing for and can be used in evaluating the specificity of a test method.

(rr) “Percent recovery” means the percentage of a measured concentration relative to the added (spiked) concentration in a reference material or matrix spike sample. A laboratory shall calculate the percent recovery by dividing the sample result by the expected result then multiplying the quotient by 100.

(ss) “Practical experience” means experience performing scientific analytical tests in a laboratory setting using equipment, instruments, kits, and materials routinely found in a laboratory. “Practical experience” includes experience in any type of laboratory setting and is not limited to cannabis-specific laboratories.

(tt) “Proficiency test” means an evaluation of a laboratory's performance against pre-established criteria by means of interlaboratory comparisons of test measurements.

(uu) “Proficiency test sample” means a sample that is prepared by a party independent of the testing laboratory with the ISO/IEC 17043 accreditation, where the concentration and identity of an analyte is known to the independent party, but is unknown to the testing laboratory and testing laboratory employees.

(vv) “Quadratic regression” means the determination, in analytical chemistry, of the best parabola equation for calibration data to generate a calibration curve. The concentrate of an analyte in a sample can then be determined by comparing a measurement of the unknown to the calibration curve. A quadratic regression uses the following equation:

(ww) “Quality control” means the set of measures implemented within an analytical procedure to ensure that the measurement system is operating in a state of statistical control for which errors have been reduced to acceptable levels.

(xx) “Quality control sample” means a sample that is produced and used by a laboratory for the purpose of assuring the quality of the data and results. Quality control samples include blank samples, matrix spike samples, laboratory control samples, replicate samples, and reference material samples.

(yy) “Reagent” means a compound or mixture added to a system to cause a chemical reaction or test if a reaction occurs. A reagent may be used to tell whether a specific chemical substance is present by causing a reaction to occur with the chemical substance.

(zz) “Reference material” means material containing a known concentration of an analyte of interest that is in solution or in a homogeneous matrix.

(aaa) “Reference method” means the method by which the performance of an alternate method is measured or evaluated.

(bbb) “Relative percent difference” (RPD) means the comparative statistic that is used to calculate precision or random error. RPD is calculated using the following equation:

(ccc) “Relative standard deviation” (RSD) means the standard deviation expressed as a percentage of the means recovery. RSD is calculated using the following equation:

(ddd) “Representative” means a small quantity of the batch whose characteristics represent, as accurately as possible, the entire batch, thus allowing the results to be generalized.

(eee) “Representative sample” means a sample that is comprised of several sample increments of cannabis or cannabis products that are collected from a batch for testing.

(fff) “Requester” means the person who submits a request to the laboratory for testing of cannabis or cannabis products from an entity licensed under the Act.

(ggg) “Reserve sample” means any portion of a representative sample that was not used in the testing process.

(hhh) “Sample” means a representative part of, or a single item from, a batch which is comprised of several sample increments.

(jjj) “Sample increment” means a portion of a batch that, together with other increments, makes up the sample.

(kkk) “Sampler” means the laboratory employee responsible for obtaining samples of cannabis or cannabis products from a licensed distributor or licensed microbusiness authorized to engage in distribution.

(lll) “Sanitize” means to sterilize, disinfect, or make hygienic.

(mmm) “Scope of accreditation” means the tests or types of tests performed, materials or products tested, and the methods used for testing cannabis or cannabis products for which the accreditation has been granted.

(nnn) “Standard operating procedure” (SOP) means a written document that provides detailed instructions for the performance of all aspects of an analysis, operation, or action.

(ooo) “Target organism” means an organism that is being tested for in an analytical procedure or test method.

(ppp) “THCA” means tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, CAS number 23978-85-0.

(qqq) “Total CBD” means the sum of CBD and CBDA. Total CBD is calculated using the following equation:

(rrr) “Total THC” means the sum of THC, delta 8 THC, and THCA. Total THC is calculated using the following equation:

Total THC (mg/g) = [(delta 8-THCA concentration (mg/g) + delta 9-THCA concentration (mg/g)) x 0.877] + [delta 8-THC concentration (mg/g) + delta 9-THC concentration (mg/g)]

(sss) “Validation” means the confirmation by examination and objective evidence that the requirements for a specific intended use or analytical method are fulfilled.

(ttt) “Water activity” means the measure of the quantity of water in a product that is available and therefore capable of supporting bacteria, yeasts, and fungi and which is reported in units Aw.