Day: 7 May 2021

CBD is one of many cannabinoids found within hemp and cannabis.

CBD extracts can be derived from most parts of hemp or cannabis plants. They are selectively extracted, concentrating CBD and removing or reducing other chemical components. This process means the final product is different from hemp.

Hemp and related products, such as cold-pressed oils, are not novel because there is evidence to show a history of consumption before May 1997. This is not the case for CBD extracts.

CBD status as a novel food

The novel food status of CBD extracts was confirmed in January 2019, and the European Commission updated their Novel Foods Catalogue to reflect this change.

The catalogue itself has not got legal status. The European Commission uses this tool to show the decisions made on novel food status and it is these decisions that have legal status. This makes it clear that CBD extract and isolate products are legally novel foods.

There are currently no authorised CBD extracts or isolates on the market.

Read More food.gov.uk

What is a novel food product? Click Here 

Novel foods are foods which have not been widely consumed by people in the UK or European Union (EU) before May 1997. This means that the foods don’t have a ‘history of consumption’. Examples of novel foods include:

• new foods, for example, phytosterols and phytostanols used in cholesterol reducing spreads
• traditional foods eaten elsewhere in the world, for example, chia seeds, baobab
• foods produced from new processes, for example, bread treated with ultraviolet light to increase the level of vitamin D present

Novel foods need to be authorised before they can be placed on the market in Great Britain (GB).

Read More food.gov.uk

CBD & Novel Foods