Denver Dispensary Universal Herbs Issues Mold Recall

Marijuana dispensary Universal Herbs just issued a recall for marijuana products because of the presence of potentially unsafe mold and yeast.

A public safety notice from the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment warns that pre-rolled joints of a strain called Blue Cookies from the Universal Herbs dispensary at 800 Park Avenue West tested positive for mold and/or yeast after a DDPHE investigation. According to DDPHE inspection documents, the investigation stemmed from a consumer complaint about a cultivation supplying Universal Herbs.

Any Blue Cookies pre-rolls from Universal Herbs with the license number 402R-00602 could be affected, the DDPHE recall notes.

"Consumers who have these recalled products should dispose of the products or return them to the store from which they were purchased. For more information about the recall, contact Universal Herbs at [email protected]," the DDPHE announcement reads.

Additional inspection reports show that the same dispensary had to remove expired edible products in April 2018 after a DDPHE investigator discovered mold on the top of a pot-infused pumpkin pie for sale.

The Universal Herbs dispensary located at 755 South Jason Street was not listed in the recall.

Universal Herbs sent a written statement in response to a Westword request for comment: "Universal Herbs takes this recall very seriously, and has not ever had any problems like this in the past. The necessary steps and procedures have been followed to ensure this does not happen again. Universal Herbs would like to ensure the public that all the product in the stores have been tested for microbials, and have passed everything."

Although most marijuana recalls initially involved pesticide issues, recalls because of positive mold tests have increased since 2017, with at least five mold and yeast recalls affecting over twenty different dispensaries in Denver over the past two years.

Update: This article was updated on Friday, July 5, to include a statement from Universal Herbs.