Cannabinoid Insight ‘met’ Dr Krzysztof Wojtanowski in March by video link.

With the head office based in the UK, Goodbody Health has acquired Sativa Wellness, in Bilcza, south-central Poland, where the main focus is on the production of ultra-pure CBD isolate and broad-spectrum THC-free distillate. Both are compliant with ISO 22000 Food Safety Management procedures. The company also collaborates with the Medical University in Lublin.

At the time of writing, Poland had welcomed three million refugees, and had become a haven to the majority of those fleeing the war in Ukraine, with many passing through en route to another European nation. After chatting briefly about the worsening situation to the east, we quickly jump back to the topic at hand. 

Sativa Wellness Group became Goodbody Health Group in January this year, bolstering its position in the market as a trusted distributor and retailer of quality, accredited wellness products and diagnostic services. Krzysztof tells how Sativa Wellness Poland is central to the company’s goals in the UK and European CBD markets. 

One of the advanced capabilities which puts this well-oiled machine ahead of the pack is their approach to extracting CBD from the hemp plant. A quick study of the available CBD extraction techniques online will show that most brands proclaim their use of Supercritical CO₂ but there is some conjecture among the consumer market that all CBD is made the same. Sativa Wellness disputes this, and by implementing a different process, says the result is an ‘ultra-pure’ CBD extract. 

“Unlike most other extraction facilities that use the supercritical fluid carbon dioxide method (SFE), we use a liquid solvent extraction process. This allows us to obtain a much purer crude extract in comparison to SFE,” Krzysztof explains. 

“Our method of combining the extraction process with a very well optimised purification protocol – including decarboxylation and three-step thin layer short pass distillation – are key in distinguishing our products from those of our competitors.” 

“After extraction and purification, we perform a minimum two stage crystallisation process obtaining ultra-pure CBD crystal.” 

The advanced development and production processes governed by Krzysztof in Poland are clearly a success. The company is on the Food Standards Agency’s register of permitted CBD products, which allows their flagship direct to consumer brand, Goodbody, to continue trading in the UK when many others are forced to withdraw from the market. This is good news for British CBD consumers, as Goodbody remains widely available in mainstream retailers.

A member of the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry’s Novel Foods Consortium, the group awaits the final results from an OECD toxicology study before it can take the next steps towards a full market authorisation. 

Krzysztof says the company’s compliance efforts don’t stop at novel foods. “All our products comply fully with the requirements set for the Novel Foods Act, and we currently supply products for white label customers as well as the Goodbody brand.

“We have the production facility and the expertise to produce any kind of CBD-based products but we also possess a THC-licence from the Main Pharmaceutical Inspector in Poland for the processing of psychoactive substances contained within the cannabis species.”

In April, another subsidiary of Goodbody Health, PhytoVista Laboratories, was granted a controlled drugs licence by the Home Office in London, which will allow the labs to handle up to Schedule 1 Controlled Drugs. 

This comes as UK authorities look to the regulation of the UK consumer cannabinoid product testing infrastructure ahead of wider compliance within the industry. 

Krzysztof says this will enable the company to test products ‘within the scope of cannabinoids profile and potency testing in various matrices, according to the ISO17025 standards already possessed by PhytoVista.’ 

As well as the production and extraction of CBD, the expert team in Poland are also able to extract and purify other natural products contained within the Cannabis sativa L. like the minor cannabinoids, terpenes and phenolics.

Krzysztof explains that this is part of the group’s aims to onboard additional services, including pressed hemp seed oil and the distillation of essential oils. 

“Alongside the production of the pure CBD isolate, we also manufacture distillates rich in CBD and other valuable cannabinoids like CBG or CBDV with no traces of THC. We do this utilising the Centrifugal Partition Chromatography (CPC) method which allows us to fractionate Cannabis sativa L. extracts by any means.

“We work on two preparative Gilson CPC 1000PRO systems using them for THC remediation and the isolation of minor cannabinoids at the same time. This in my opinion is the best separation method for such complicated matrices as natural products. 

“With our growing experience in this field and with the cooperation of the Medical University in Lublin, we can include the extraction of other natural products without limiting ourselves to just cannabinoids.”