Hemp Today report
A parliamentary group in the UK has recommended the government abandon the current system for approving CBD products through the regime for new or “novel” foods, and in its place institute a food-safety system based on certificates of analysis (COAs).
The recommendation would radically alter the CBD hemp landscape in the UK, unlocking the country’s full potential to meet growing domestic demand estimated at roughly £690 million (~€814.5 million; ~$905.7 million) and create export opportunities for producers. It is among six key suggestions in a proposed agreement that has been put before the Secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on CBD by a core group that makes up the Secretariat Advisory Board (SAB).
A second key recommendation would allow for total THC and other controlled cannabinoids at a level up to 10% of a product’s CBD content. Other recommendations would lift current bans on harvesting hemp flowers and CBD extraction, allow the use of non-EU-approved hemp varieties, and raise the maximum level for THC in hemp plants “on the field” from 0.2% to 1.0%.
The proposed changes are based on a paper published earlier this year by the UK Cannabis Industry Council that has already been distributed to relevant ministries, according to the APPG.
Establishing-the-THC-level-in-UK-consumer-CBD-productsNovel food vs COAs
The recommended change in the method for qualifying CBD products for the market would mean shifting from a process already underway by the UK’s Food Safety Authority (FSA), which is now reviewing more than 6,000 products under novel food guidelines.
Under a COA-based process, independent laboratories would produce reports on the finished products, taking into consideration total cannabinoids, and accepted tolerance for heavy metals, pesticides, residual solvents, microbiological, mycotoxins, terpenes and flavonoids – a process that is common practice in other countries.
In an appendix to the agreement, the SAB urges a break from the FSA process, which is based on the European Union’s model for approving CBD products.
“On the 31st of January 2020 the UK stopped being a member of the European Union (EU) enabling the UK to do things differently, better, more efficiently and that applies to self-generated EU bureaucracy that has left the UK lagging behind other countries,” the APPG advisory board said.
“The FSA chose to inherit this costly and counterproductive approach from the EU rather than build upon post-Brexit freedoms most likely due to a lack of experience and understanding of the hemp farming industry as a whole and CBD products,” the agreement observes.
UK parliamentary group urges radical overhaul of CBD approval system
