I've had some good conversations with Ben at PSI so I sent him a email with questions about accreditation's and the whole 2015 Cup controversy. He told me I could post his response so here it is.
"Accreditation
Accreditation is a benchmark, and helps distinguish labs that don't know what they're doing from others that can meet basic minimum standards. However, my partner Lev has a PhD in chemistry and has worked in labs and used mass spectrometry for over a decade. Even our newest hire, Mark, has worked in an environmental testing lab for over five years.
That said - we are currently "Pending Accreditation" with PJLA, and will be fully accredited by 2017. We've delayed the process thus far to save on costs in the lab, and to our client base. To date we have seen these costs as unnecessary - especially since our data has been accurate and reproducible.
Lab Comparison and Blind Proficiency Test
Accreditation will be important, especially in light of HB4209. However, comparing your lab's results with those of all the other cannabis testing laboratories in the country in a blind proficiency test is the only real way to prove that your methods are robust and your data are accurate.
ACCL
We are currently accredited by the ACCL (Association of Commercial Cannabis Laboratories), Our acceptance into the association is in recognition that we have performed and passed the requisite quality, security, and accountability reviews, including a
nationwide proficiency test.
Emerald Test
This past Spring, we participated in the Emerald Proficiency Test and Inter-laboratory Comparison along with many of the most professional cannabis testing labs throughout the country. We decided to take the test because, as you know, we are dedicated to achieving the most accurate scientific data for our clients. I'm proud to say that received the Emerald Test Badge as one of the nation's top performing labs in the Emerald Test.
2015 High Times Cannabis Cup
You are correct in that we did share the testing with Iron Labs at the 2015 cup. Iron Labs' mold reporting created a little bit of a scandal. Essentially, they reported that an unusually high number of samples (a statistical anomaly for High Times' contestants) had mold or fungus issues.
After Iron Labs published that so many samples had mold, we went back to perform thorough microscopy on a number of the samples in question. Even after said analyses, we were unable to find evidence of such
egregious mold hyphae.
High Times ended up having to put out a
press release due to the Iron Labs mold issue, letting folks know that: 1.) Iron Labs claimed there was a lot of mold, but 2.) not one of the 72 judges complained about an unusual smell or taste, 3.) no mold or fungus was discovered during the intake process, and finally, 4.) PSI Labs retested a few of the samples and concurred that none of the mold was so egregiously present that it should be disqualified.
2016 High Times Cannabis Cup & 2016 Medical Country Fair Cup
After that debacle, PSI Labs has been the
exclusive testing lab for the last two High Times' cannabis cups."