The FSA is to encourage businesses to reformulate food and drinks products to meet its CBD provisional acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 10 mg per day, and a THC safe upper limit of 0.07 mg per day.
In updated guidance unveiled today (1 July), the FSA said it was now “recommending that products are reformulated” in line with evidence published by its independent scientific committee on CBD and THC. The ACI for CBD was slashed from 70mg a day to just 10mg in October 2023, while the THC safe upper limit was revealed today.
The move would “make it easier for businesses to align with the updated guidance and will give consumers access to more CBD products that meet the FSA’s advised limits,” the FSA said in a letter to suppliers.
Presently, CBD products are currently allowed to be sold in the UK if there is a novel food application with the FSA linked to them, but – until today – reformulations were not possible.
The FSA will now update its CBD public list of products associated with progressing novel food applications every four months, or more frequently if major changes are required. Businesses will not need to contact the FSA unless the reformulation requires product detail amendments such as name changes to reflect the new dosage, or change in CBD supplier.
All CBD products must also comply with the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the 2001 Regulations.
No mandatory reformulation
Businesses that did not reformulate their products would not see them removed from the public list at this stage, the FSA confirmed to The Grocer.
“The FSA is not making the reformulation of CBD food products mandatory, and we will not be proactively removing CBD food products from the list unless we have reasons to believe that they are unsafe,” an FSA spokeswoman said. “We have had requests from businesses to allow them to reformulate their products while they’re on the public list, so we hope that this will be a positive change for industry and make the authorisation process more efficient.
“Although the guidance is voluntary, we are encouraging reformulation now because bringing existing products in line with our latest safety advice will provide the best level of protection for consumers. Having established a provisional ADI and now a safe upper limit for THC, it is important that consumers have access to products that meet these standards.”
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CBD brand Goodrays – whose products currently contain more than 10mg of CBD per serving – welcomed the move.
“Having been part of the stakeholder process with the FSA, we’re supportive of this change as it’s another positive step towards full market authorisation,” said founder Eoin Keenan, “The FSA have set this out as a recommendation rather than a mandated hard change, and suppliers, retailers and the FSA all understand that there will be a transition period for all parties to implement this recommendation, which is a sensible approach.
“We have a transition plan in place and anticipate the full market will reformulate in line with the guidance over a sensible time period.”
The FSA is also advising all CBD food businesses to review their product labelling to display the recommended CBD ADI limit and key safety information on pack.
“We continue to advise that under-18s, people taking medication, and those who are breastfeeding, pregnant or trying to conceive do not consume CBD,” it said.
Last May, Pureis and Cannaray became the first two CBD brands to have their novel food applications progressed past risk assessment by the FSA.
Another application, linked to 2,756 CBD products from brands including Medahuman, Supreme and Hip Pop, was also passed in July.
The FSA is still yet to issue full authorisations to any CBD products in the UK, however.
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