Industry body submits CBD novel food application for validation by Food Standards Agency

The Association for the Cannabinoid Industry (ACI) has submitted its novel food application to the FSA on behalf of CBD manufacturers.

This marks a pivotal milestone for the ACI as it met the compliance deadline set by the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA), the association said in an update on Tuesday (Feb 16).

“I am delighted to submit these dossiers on behalf of the ACI-ADSL CBD safety consortium and support an industry on the cusp of transitioning from a grey area to a fully legally compliant market,” said Dr Parveen Bhatarah, regulatory and compliance associate of the ACI who led the effort.

Up until now there were some fundamental unanswered questions regarding the safety of CBD for human consumption including concerns raised by the government’s Committee on Toxicology (CoT).

In February 2019, CBD was classified by the European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) as a ‘novel food’, meaning that safety studies were required for CBD products to ensure they were safe for human consumption.

In February, the FSA set a deadline of March 31, 2021 for the industry in response to the EFSA’s classification. On this date, CBD companies wishing to stay in the UK market would need to have their application validated by the FSA, or face their products being removed from shelves.

In response to this deadline, the ACI partnered with Advanced Development and Safety Laboratory (ADSL), to announce the launch of a landmark study in last September with a consortium of CBD companies committed to building a sustainable, safe and fully compliant industry in the UK.

“The FSA have always had an ethical responsibility to gain evidence to prove that CBD is safe for human consumption. With the submission of the ACI and ADSL CBD consortium safety study we are well on the way to providing them this evidence,” says Dr Paul Duffy, toxicology associate, ACI.