South Dakota: from grow to shelf, what the label has to show

Step by step: South Dakota

1. Step 1: One strain, one harvest, 50 lb max (Cultivation facility) A cultivation facility registered with the South Dakota Department of Health splits its flower into homogenous batches of 50 pounds or less, each from one strain and one harvest date; a bigger harvest is divided before sampling. Each batch gets a unique batch identifier, tracked in Metrc, the state’s seed-to-sale system.
2. Step 2: Manufacturer makes the edible (Manufacturer) A licensed manufacturer turns the flower into gummies, in batches of no more than 70,000 servings. An edible may hold no more than 50 mg of THC per serving and 500 mg per package, and its label gives the serving size and number of servings. Since 1 October 2025 it also carries an expiration date no more than 12 months after manufacture.
3. Step 3: The lab’s designee pulls the sample (Testing facility) State law says a sample must be collected by a designated representative of the testing facility, a person or entity the lab authorizes in writing. A designee needs at least five hours of initial training and three hours a year after that. The batch is checked and homogenized first, and while results are pending its storage container is labeled PRODUCT NOT TESTED.
4. Step 4: Registered, accredited testing facility (Testing facility) Testing facilities are registered by the Department of Health and must earn ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation within 32 months or lose their registration. Every batch meant for retail sale is tested in final form for potency (THC, plus CBD if labeled, within plus or minus 10%), microbials, mycotoxins, metals, pesticides and solvents.
5. Step 5: COA and Metrc, by midnight (Testing facility) The facility gives the business a certificate of analysis and must update the tracking system by midnight each day with every sample and result, as a number and a pass or fail. The batch may move only once the COA shows compliance and the tracking system is updated.
6. Step 6: Fail: remediate or destroy (Department of Health) A failed batch stays in its container under a bold label reading PRODUCT FAILED TESTING. Remediation needs the Department’s approval and is never allowed for metals, pesticides or prohibited solvents; a remediated batch must pass every test again. Otherwise it is destroyed under the approved procedure, logged within one business day and recorded on security cameras.
7. Step 7: Package + label (Manufacturer) The edible’s marketing layer carries the Department’s standard symbol, a cannabis leaf inside a yellow caution triangle with a black border, at least 1/2 inch square on the front. The symbol rule covers edibles, not flower. The label adds net contents, the testing results and the state warnings in at least 6-point type.
8. Step 8: Department inspections + state lab (Department of Health) Department of Health inspectors visit dispensaries with a checklist that asks whether every product carries the required warning symbols and labels and whether mandated testing results, including THC in milligrams and percent, appear on all products. The South Dakota Public Health Laboratory is certified for confirmatory testing, and if a failed batch is not handled by the rules, the Department warns every dispensary.