The legal status of CBD in the UK and the world is in a state of constant flow.
Recently, the legality of the substance was greatly impacted in both France and Sweden thanks to decisions reached in the supreme courts of each respective country. And now, clarifications on the standards that the UK will impose on CBD products starting in 2021 has led a consortium of CBD manufacturers to take action.
The future of CBD foods in the UK
This news comes in the wake of an announcement made by the UK’s Food Standards Agency, which stated that any foods containing CBD that wish to be sold in the country will need to submit a wealth of data supporting the safety of the substance, as part of the UK’s novel food safety evaluation process.
Previously, novel food applications were handled by the EU. With Brexit looming on the horizon, the FSA has made a point of confirming that they will uphold similar standards as those put in place to the EU. At least when it comes to novel foods, which includes foods containing CBD.
It’s important to note that this decision does not impact other CBD products, such as CBD oils and beauty products, which must meet other safety and regulatory standards. If you are unfamiliar with CBD products, this Cibdol guide will teach you the basics.
The industry’s response
The announcement made by the FSA prompted a press release by the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry (ACI), where they announced they are putting together a research consortium with the goal of collecting the data required by the FSA. According to the press release, being able to produce the data required by the FSA is a critical issue.
“We are satisfied that any company that does not have such original derived data will not have their novel foods dossier validated by the FSA. Only products with this validation will be allowed on the market after 31 March 2021,” wrote ACI representatives. March 31st is the deadline set in place by the FSA for all UK manufacturers of CBD foods products to submit novel food applications.
The ACI studies will take the form of OECD 408 rodent studies, which is the same standard often used by the EU as part of their novel food process. Since all members of the research consortium will contribute to the research costs and will be able to share the resulting data, the ACI hopes this will be a cost-effective way to get the results they need in a timely manner.
This approach will also help keep animal testing to a minimum, as the alternative would be to have dozens of manufacturers all conducting rodent tests on their own.
It’s safe to say that the results of these studies and of the UK’s regulatory efforts will have a ripple effect throughout the CBD industry, especially if the UK decides that the ACI data is insufficient, which could lead to a scenario where no CBD foods are able to be legally sold in the country.
The ACI also anticipates that the results of their studies will be useful far beyond the borders of the UK, as they stated that “the safety information generated in this study will respond to future demands of regulatory authorities in the US and EU.”
