CRC Tech Challenges the Gold Standard

Color remediation column (CRC) technology is a novel post-extraction procedure that enables producers to substantially brighten the color of extracted oils, disproving the traditional understanding that the gold hue alone assures its superiority and origin. This process helps to eliminate odors and pollutants from various extracts. To extract and filter contaminants, several producers now utilize a "color remediation column," which is a steel cylinder filled with a filtration media similar to sand. Additionally, CRC is also utilized to remove any leftover pesticides, off-flavors, or even byproducts from certain synthetic processes. However, the technology has sparked debate over whether the industry’s quality control is being compromised.

Proponents of the technology advocate that CRC is an effective way to clean up low-grade distillate enough to resemble top-shelf resin, while opponents question the transparency of quality since it’s difficult to differentiate CRC-treated products. Though there are questions about whether good-quality CRC extracts are achievable, industry insiders say that any reputable extraction lab can ensure that residual CRC media is removed from oil with simple filtration using a 0.45 µm Polyethersulfone (PES) membrane filter.