N OV E L F O O D S
UP TO
STANDARD
The UK’s Food Standards Agency has given CBD
companies a year to apply for their products to
be authorised. Who do the regulations apply to
and what regulatory hoops will businesses have
to jump through? The ultimate goal? Safe CBD
for you and me.
Words by Gordon Stribling
The legal cannabis market has
exploded over the past year in this
country, with seemingly every industry
wanting a slice of the CBD
infused pie. But the proliferation of
cannabis products has inevitably led
to increased scrutiny from regulators,
including the European Commission
(EC) and the relevant food safety
authorities.
Novel foods are foods that had not
been widely consumed within the
EU prior to May 1997. The European
Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA)
has argued that cannabinoid-rich
hemp foods and hemp extracts
containing CBD have been consumed
across Europe for many years and
therefore low-concentration CBD
products should not be considered
novel. The FSA disagrees.
The EC confi rmed the novel food
status of CBD at the start of last
year and a year later, the UK’s Food
Standards Agency (FSA) announced
that businesses would be required to
apply for novel food authorisation for
their products to continue to be sold
on the high street.
Which products require
authorisation?
All CBD supplements, edibles, drinks
and tinctures, what the FSA considers
to be an ‘ingestible’. Vape and
cosmetic products do not fall within
the scope of the regulation.
The FSA has now issued guidance
for CBD businesses that intend to
continue to trade in the lucrative
industry, amidst a year of limbo. What is the Novel Food
Catalogue. Is it legally
binding?
I have a small self-run
CBD business. What is a
Novel Food? The European Commission Novel
Food Catalogue records the decisions
made about the novel food status of
products of animal and plant origin
and other substances. It is a non
exhaustive list that guides industries
on whether a product requires
authorisation under the regulations.
The catalogue does not have legal
status, so it’s not technically law.
Rather it shows the legal decisions
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that have been made about foods and
food supplements. The list confi rms
that CBD extracts and isolates are
classifi ed as novel foods.
There are currently no authorised CBD
supplements on the market, though
a number of applications have been
made across Europe.
I’m going to put my
products through
this process. How will
products be authorised?
Food businesses are required to
submit a dossier of information via the
European Commission’s e-submission