As cannabis production scales and testing standards tighten, cultivators face increasing pressure to ensure their products are free from harmful microbes without compromising quality. Decontamination, the process of removing or killing microorganisms, has become a common step in post-harvest processing. Traditional methods come with trade-offs that can alter the plant’s potency, aroma, or appearance.

Until recently, most producers relied on heat-based techniques, such as pasteurization, or surface treatments, including ozone and ultraviolet (UV) light exposure. While effective in food and agriculture, these methods often fail to penetrate dense cannabis flowers, allowing microbes hidden deep inside to survive. Other approaches, such as gamma and electron-beam (E-beam) irradiation, have been used safely in the food industry for decades to sterilize spices, produce, and packaged goods without affecting nutritional quality or taste.

Now, X-ray decontamination is emerging as a promising adaptation of these proven methods for cannabis. The technology penetrates through the entire flower, destroying microbial DNA while leaving cannabinoids and terpenes intact.

Jeff Adams, founder of XRPure, explains the process through a simple visual analogy:

“If you imagine a single mold spore as the size of a golf ball,” Adams says, “the DNA strands inside that spore are about the size of a needle. The X-rays, on that same scale, are the size of those needles—they pass through the ‘golf ball’ and target the DNA directly.”

Because plant cells are vastly larger on this scale, roughly fifteen feet in diameter, the X-rays pass through them virtually untouched.

“They’re targeting only the things that are on their size scale,” he adds, “which makes X-ray particularly effective at killing microbes while leaving the rest of the plant unharmed.”

By contrast, chemical or fog-based decontamination methods rely on molecules that interact with terpene and cannabinoid compounds of similar size, raising the risk of chemical reactions that can degrade flavor and aroma. X-ray avoids this issue entirely by working on a different physical scale.

Finally, Adams and his team note that X-ray systems meet the highest FDA safety standards and are sealed to prevent any radiation leakage. Operators don’t require special protective equipment or restricted rooms. “It’s a very safe, simple, and efficient technology,” says Sales Manager Joseph Bancheri, “that’s already built to comply with federal safety protocols if and when national cannabis legalization arrives.”

The Industry Has A Mold Problem

Despite the technology’s promise, decontamination in general is an ongoing debate within the cannabis industry. Some purists argue that remediation of any kind undermines the plant’s natural integrity, insisting that skilled cultivators should be able to grow clean cannabis without relying on post-harvest interventions.

Jeff Adams, founder of XRPure, acknowledges that sentiment but believes X-ray remediation represents a fundamentally different approach from heat or chemical-based methods. “One interesting thing about X-ray,” Adams explains, “is that the wavelength is almost exactly the same size as the DNA strand in a microbe. As it passes through the flower, those DNA strands absorb energy from the X-ray, which breaks them apart and essentially kills the microbe. It’s not a chemical reaction with the plant; it’s literally targeting the microbial DNA.”

That precise mechanism is what makes X-ray decontamination less likely to alter the plant’s terpenes and cannabinoids. “We completely understand the concern about maintaining quality,” Adams says. “Ideally, everyone would grow perfectly clean cannabis. But the reality is that the same environment that’s good for cultivating a plant is also good for growing microbes. Even the best operations in the country struggle with mold and mildew contamination.”

For producers operating at scale, those challenges can be costly. Adams points out that even small microbial contamination can lead to failed lab tests, lost batches, and reputational damage. “We provide a way to address contamination immediately after harvest—before packaging—so the product stays stable and clean on the shelf,” he explains.

Regardless, there’s a stigma. Cannabis that has been “treated” or “remediated” often sells for less, and many growers choose not to disclose the use of decontamination technology. “That’s just the reality of the market right now,” Adams says. “But we believe that clean cannabis is actually better for consumers. No one wants to inhale mold spores, and medical patients can be especially sensitive.”

Interestingly, consumer perception may be shifting. Adams cites a recent survey the company conducted showing that while 90% of respondents wanted transparency about whether a product had been remediated, 56% said they would be more likely to purchase treated cannabis, particularly in the medical market.

Sales Manager Joseph Bancheri adds that skepticism often comes down to scale and economics. “Some of the smaller or legacy-style growers, what I call the ‘tree-hugger naturalists’, don’t want to use any kind of remediation,” he says. “I get it. But if you’re losing 10% of your crop to microbials, that’s a big hit. Once you’re producing 100 pounds or more per month, it starts making sense to have an in-house system or send it out for treatment.”

Bancheri also points out that testing standards vary dramatically by state. Nevada allows up to 10,000 colony-forming units (CFU) per gram of microbial matter, while Illinois caps it at 1,000, and some states go as high as 100,000. “At 10,000 CFU, you’re in a reasonable middle ground,” Adams notes. “It protects medical patients but still allows growers to operate realistically. At 1,000 CFU, it becomes challenging, even for the cleanest facilities.”

Aspergillus, the common black mold sometimes found in household bathrooms, remains the biggest microbial culprit and is strictly prohibited in most states. “It’s airborne, it’s everywhere,” Adams says. “Even a sealed HVAC system can’t completely prevent it. And when you’re inhaling, your lungs don’t have the same defenses your stomach does when you eat contaminated food. That’s why this matters for public health.”

For now, the patchwork of state regulations keeps the debate alive. “Every state is its own island,” Bancheri adds. “Some base their limits on food safety data, others make up their own thresholds. Until there’s federal legalization, it’s going to stay inconsistent.”

Cost vs. Benefits

But for many growers, cost remains the deciding factor. “The biggest complaint out there,” Adams concedes, “is that people don’t want to add one more expense to their production. X-ray technology is more expensive than other remediation methods. But when you look at the numbers, the payback can happen very fast. Cannabis is a valuable product, and your losses can pile up quickly.”

To help make the technology accessible, XRPure offers leasing programs that spread costs across three- or four-year terms, covering both the machine and its maintenance. “That way, you don’t have to come up with a big chunk of money all at once,” Adams says. “For cultivators producing 300 to 400 pounds per month, the math works out—they’re actually saving money. For smaller growers, there are toll processors that can run the service for them, and we’re about to launch a mobile system that can drive right up to your farm, process your flower, and move on to the next.”

While X-ray delivers what Adams calls “the very best decontamination process,” it remains one piece of a broader post-harvest preservation puzzle—from packaging to retail storage. It’s challenging out there, but investing in technology that protects the plant’s integrity and keeps customers coming back can pay off in the long term.

Adams adds, “We’re just one piece of the puzzle, but hopefully a helpful one. As the industry moves toward medical markets and stricter standards, clean cannabis will equal quality cannabis. And organizations like ASTM are already laying the groundwork for those federal-level best practices once legalization happens nationwide.”

The post How Does the X-Ray Method Work in Decontamination? appeared first on Cannabis Industry Journal.