VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Rubicon Organics Inc. has successfully completed its first commercial-scale harvest of certified organic, super-premium cannabis at the company’s flagship 125,000-square-foot hybrid greenhouse facility in Delta, B.C. The harvest passed all microbiology and contaminant testing to be fully compliant with Health Canada standards and has enabled the company to submit its sales license amendment with Health Canada--marking a significant milestone in the company’s execution strategy as it moves towards brand launch in Canada.
“The success of our first commercial-scale harvest is proof that Rubicon Organics’ proprietary cultivation methods--developed over years of research and development--can grow fully compliant, exceptional quality, certified organic cannabis at scale in Canada,” stated Jesse McConnell, CEO of Rubicon Organics. “We are very proud of our dedicated cultivation team which has fully delivered against the design expectations and target yields of our hybrid facility in Delta. We are now moving down the path towards securing our sales license to bring high-quality, certified organic products directly to the market in the coming months.”
Rubicon Organics’ initial commercial-scale crop was planted in mid-June and harvested from the end of September to mid-October. The crop has passed analytical testing to ensure safety and compliance with Health Canada standards, which places stringent limits on the presence of heavy metals, pesticides, microorganisms, mold and other contaminants. The crop has now been dried, bulk packaged and will be entering the final packaging stage in preparation for brand launch.
Facility Update
Rubicon Organics’ fully licensed 125,000-square-foot facility in Delta has approximately 80,000 square feet of flowering canopy space divided into five climate-controlled compartments with LED lighting. The company’s first commercial-scale crop was planted in and harvested from the first of these compartments. Construction and planting of the four remaining cultivation compartments are expected to be complete prior to the end of 2019.
As new compartments are completed, additional crops are planted in stages in order to achieve full production capacity which is estimated to be 11,000 kg per year. Once the facility is fully planted, the company intends to maximize efficiencies and ensure a consistent supply of fresh flower through a perpetual harvest strategy that targets a harvest every 2.5 weeks.
Sales Amendment Update
Having now arrived at a saleable product, Rubicon Organics has initiated the application process for a sales license amendment with Health Canada in order to sell directly to provincial distributors. Dependent on Health Canada approval timelines, the company expects to receive its sales license amendment in the first half of 2020.
