CBD brands have been handed a major boost after a novel food application linked to more than 2,500 products received a positive safety assessment by the Food Standards Agency.
Application RP427 – submitted by the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) consortium – will now pass from the ‘risk assessment’ to the ‘risk management’ phase of the FSA’s novel foods application process.
It is linked to a total of 2,756 CBD products from brands including Medahuman, Supreme and Hip Pop.
Applications linked to products from Pureis and Cannaray were the first to progress past risk assessment in May.
The positive safety assessment by the FSA means products using the natural CBD isolate have been deemed safe to consume in line with its consumer advice of up to 10mg per day.
The EIHA hailed the progression of its application as a “significant and long-awaited breakthrough”.
It praised the FSA for its “bravery and foresight in establishing a regulated environment for CBD products”.
The regulatory body had “provided a clear and stable regulatory framework that ensures EIHA consortium members can operate with confidence,” it said.
“This legal certainty is invaluable, as it encourages investment, innovation, new product formulations in the burgeoning CBD market,” it added.
Emma Thackray, co-founder of Hip Pop, said the brand was “delighted” to have received a positive safe assessment for the natural CBD isolate used in its CBD kombucha range – sold in Sainsbury’s and on Ocado.
“It’s a huge step forward, demonstrating compliance with the highest levels of safety and quality, and enabling us and the wider EIHA consortium to move forward to the next stage in the journey,” she said.
Medahuman managing director Ben Weeks, meanwhile, said the ruling by the FSA would give its consumers “confidence in the quality and safety of the CBD we use in our range of products”.
He added: “We see this as a positive step by the FSA and hope it will lead to final approval status for CBD, which we believe will unlock more investment, new product development and growth.”
As part of the ‘risk management’ phase, the application will now face further scrutiny of “other legitimate factors” that could pose a risk to consumers, including the labelling of products linked to them.
It will then be sent for ministerial approval to await full authorisation for sale.
The FSA has said it expects to be able to issue full authorisations for CBD products in the UK by spring 2025.
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