Media Coverage

Starting April 1 2021, no CBD product on the U.K. market will be allowed to stay there without validation by food-safety authorities. Hemp Industry Daily takes a look at the readiness of the industry.

Although Covid-19 continues to have a profoundly negative effect on the UK’s economy, some businesses have seen growth. One market that appears to be doing particularly well is cannabidiol (CBD): the beneficial, non-intoxicating cannabis compound.

Sixteen CBD companies have signed up to a UK trial that will help determine the toxicity and safety of the popular cannabis compound.

The study, which has been organized by the UK’s Association for the Cannabinoid Industry (ACI), will involve 90-day-long tests on rodents to assess how CBD affects the liver, if it promotes drowsiness, and how it may interact with other drugs.

A British trade group says it has formed a consortium that may spend up to £1million (€1 million; $1.27 million) to carry out trials aimed

Today, the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry (ACI), in partnership with Advanced Development and Safety Laboratory (ADSL), is announcing a landmark study with a consortium of CBD companies to build a sustainable, safe, and fully compliant industry in the UK.

The Association for the Cannabinoid Industry will move forward with its consortium approach to obtaining toxicology and safety data for CBD with at least 15 companies having signed up.

A UK CBD industry body is leading a consortium of companies to conduct a ‘landmark’ study on the safety of cannabidiol. This mean manufacturers in the country are in a ‘position to take the global lead’ on CBD in food, FoodNavigator was told.

The ACI has teamed up with the Advanced Development and Safety Laboratory (ADSL) and a consortium of CBD companies who are ‘committed to building a sustainable, safe and fully compliant industry in the UK’.

Today (25 September 2020), the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry (ACI), in partnership with Advanced Development and Safety Laboratory (ADSL), has announced the launch of a landmark study with a consortium of CBD companies who are jointly committed to building a sustainable, safe and fully-compliant industry in the UK.

With the Novel Food Validation deadline date of March 31, 2021, approaching, the research is designed to assure UK regulators, the Food Standards Agency, of the safety of the CBD products of the participating companies.

The UK’s Association for the Cannabinoid Industry has welcomed a clarification from the country’s Food Standards Agency concerning the need for new evidence as part of Novel Food applications for cannabidiol food supplements.

Great Britain has rejected the European Commission’s preliminary stance that hemp flower-derived CBD should be regulated as a narcotic, a key food safety regulator in the United Kingdom says.

Any decisions concerning CBD in Europe would have little impact on the UK market, and could even be a golden opportunity for our domestic CBD industry, which is estimated to be worth £1bn by 2025.

The European Commission is reviewing whether CBD should be classified as a narcotic. Dr Parveen Bhatarah, Head of Regulatory and Compliance Unit at The Association of the Cannabinoid Industry, explains the impact this could have on both the European and UK markets.

The CBD industry has just been dealt a potentially dangerous blow, however, with the news that the European Commission is considering classifying it as a narcotic instead of a Novel Food. While a decision won’t be made before September, it could mean that hundreds of CBD and hemp products would be unable to legally retail on the European market.

Confirmation that the European Union is looking to treat CBD as a narcotic drug have rocked the industry.

BusinessCann reported earlier this month that moves were underway to change the status of cannabidiol (CBD) in the European Union from a food to a drug.

The UK could be set to emerge as a global leader in the research and development of CBD as a food ingredient after the news that the European Commission has postponed the Novel Food applications of non-synthetic CBD products as it decides whether to class non-synthetic CBD as a narcotic.

With UK FSA (Food Standards Agency) setting 31 March as the deadline for firms to have validated novel foods application for its #CBD products, how are firms responding to this challenge in the current climate?’

The ACI is pleased to announce a partnership with The CBD Podcast by ReLeaf. The partnership commences with an interview with members of The ACI’s Regulatory and Compliance Unit, which is headed up by Dr Parveen Bhatarah. The team, which includes several new hires, ensures that our members are fully compliant with laws relating to cannabinoids.

The UK is the only market in the world where a clear regulatory framework exists for commercial adoption of CBD giving retailers the opportunity to participate in this huge market. However, they must ensure that their procurement process is able to identify the products that are fully safe and legal.

An industry association study of the safety and toxicity of cannabinoids is expected to be completed in time to meet submission deadlines to keep CBD-containing food, beverage and supplement products on the UK market.

A lack of harmonization in testing for cannabinoids led to important questions regarding product labeling and the analytical methodology used to declare the percentage of CBD and controlled cannabinoids on CBD products. Up to now there has been no standard analytical methodology for CBD product testing.

AS regulators on both sides of the Atlantic harry an untethered and ‘unsafe’ CBD industry, signs of a co-ordinated response are emerging.