The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has confirmed a list of cannabidiol (CBD) products, which it said, “are now one step closer towards being authorised.”
The FSA is calling on local authorities and the UK food industry to help bring the CBD market into compliance by prioritising the removal of products from sale that are not on the public list published by the FSA.
CBD products are ‘novel’ and therefore need to be assessed by the FSA for safety before being placed on the UK market. Currently, no CBD products have been authorised for sale in the UK. The CBD public shows which products have a credible application for authorisation with the FSA.
Space for informed judgements
Emily Miles, chief executive of the FSA, said: “The CBD market is growing rapidly. The FSA has been working to move the CBD industry into compliance. Today we have taken the next step in our pragmatic approach to making sure CBD products are safe and what they say they are.
“We have created the public list to help local authorities and retailers prioritise products to be removed from sale. If a product is not on the list, it should be removed from sale because it is not attached to a credible application to us for market authorisation.
“But being on the list means that the application is credible and the FSA has, or is shortly expecting to receive, significant scientific evidence from the applicant with which to judge safety.”
She added: “I want to emphasise that the FSA is not endorsing products on the public list, and inclusion on the list is no guarantee that they will be authorised as they have not yet been fully assessed for safety. But we have taken the step of publishing the list so that local authorities, retailers and consumers can make informed judgments about what they stock and buy, as we gradually bring this growing market into compliance with the law.”
Local authorities which enforce the novel food legislation have been advised to encourage food businesses whose products are not on the public list to voluntarily withdraw their products from the market and to consider more formal measures where this is not the case.
FSA said that that validated applications will now move on to a full risk assessment. Those that are shown to be of a low enough risk must also go through a risk management process before a recommendation can be made to Ministers on authorisation.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a naturally occurring compound found in the resinous flower of cannabis.
