LEAMINGTON, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – May 11, 2017) –
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Aphria Inc. (“Aphria” or the “Company”) (TSX:APH)(OTCQB:APHQF) today unveiled its Seed to Sale Certified quality promise as part of its long-standing commitment to the cultivation and production of clean and safe medical cannabis.
“The Seed to Sale Certified quality promise isn’t a new system that we are putting into place. From day one, we have applied a pharmaceutical-grade quality assurance and control program, and we want to continue to be transparent about the processes that enable us to lead the charge in producing clean and safe medical cannabis,” said Vic Neufeld, Chief Executive Officer, Aphria. “From the way we characterize our seeds, to our tightly controlled growing cycle, to our stringent product testing and established supply chain, the Seed to Sale Certified quality promise is our commitment to patients that we only release products for sale that meet our strict standards for quality, consistency and safety.”
The quality promise reinforces Aphria’s existing quality management program, which includes more than 500 steps that go above and beyond industry regulations imposed on Licensed Producers by Health Canada.
The Seed to Sale Certified quality promise will be rolled out onto Aphria’s product packaging over the coming weeks to provide an identifiable and trusted symbol to patients that Aphria’s products are tested, clean and safe.
The 509 steps that make up Aphria’s quality management program are broken down into five primary categories, each of which are critically important to ensuring that patients get 100% clean and safe product every time. The steps include:
- State-of-the art facility
- Tightly-controlled growing processes
- Quality production and procedures
- Established supply chain
- Standard practices and training
As part of its unwavering commitment to quality, Aphria continues to advocate for a strict product-testing regime across the medical marijuana sector as a necessary means to protect the health and safety of Canadians. Aphria has always taken quality and safety seriously and does not use unauthorized pesticides in the production of medical cannabis, nor has the Company ever had a product quality recall or crop failure resulting from Health Canada approved lab tests.
“Health Canada’s new guidelines announced on Friday, May 5, which require mandatory testing for unauthorized pesticides by all Licensed Producers, align well with the standard practices advocated by Aphria and covered under our Seed to Sale Certified quality promise. Since Aphria was founded, the Company has tested for over 70 chemical additives. We will continue to maintain our strict quality management program and adhere to all new measures introduced by Health Canada to produce safe, reliable cannabis and protect our patients,” said Mr. Neufeld.
For more information about Aphria’s 500+ step quality management program and the Seed to Sale certified promise, visit www.aphria.com/quality.
About Aphria
Aphria Inc., one of Canada’s lowest cost producers, produces, supplies and sells medical cannabis. Located in Leamington, Ontario, the greenhouse capital of Canada. Aphria is truly powered by sunlight, allowing for the most natural growing conditions available. Aphria is committed to providing pharma-grade medical cannabis, superior patient care while balancing patient economics and returns to shareholders. Aphria was the first public licensed producer to report positive cash flow from operations and the first to report positive earnings in consecutive quarters.
We Have a Good Thing Growing.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are often identified by terms such as “may”, “should”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “potential”, “believe”, “intend” or the negative of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to internal expectations, estimated margins, timing for completion of final TSX approval, expectations for future growing capacity and costs, the completion of any capital project or expansions, any commentary related to the legalization of marijuana and the timing related thereto, expectations of Health Canada approvals and expectations with respect to future production costs. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; marketing costs; loss of markets; future legislative and regulatory developments involving medical marijuana; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; the medical marijuana industry in Canada generally, income tax and regulatory matters; the ability of Aphria to implement its business strategies; competition; crop failure; currency and interest rate fluctuations and other risks.
Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.
Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
