AFTER a delay of exactly one year the long-awaited Public List of validated UK CBD products has been published by the Food Standards Agency.
products_list_index-2022-04-02T01_02_02+00_00This shows that around some 3,500 products are still permitted for sale in the UK – with ‘many thousands’ more now no longer allowed.
The initial deadline for the publication of the list was March 31, 2021, although FSA Chief Executive Office Emily Miles contended in a media call yesterday that the list was ‘not late’ – and the delay was due to poor quality applications.
Novel Food Scorecard
The UK CBD Novel Food figures breakdown as follows:
-The FSA says it received over 900 novel food applications for CBD. 680 of these were rejected. A further 42 were withdrawn by the applicant.
-Seven applications have passed through to the risk assessment phase
-175 applications are at the pre-validation stage
-Of these 65 applications are at the on-hold stage with the FSA awaiting further information from the applicants
-This leaves a further 110 applications which are not on the Public List. The FSA says this is because they were either submitted after March 31, 2021, or they have not been able to satisfy the FSA that the ‘products in the application were on sale before February 2020’.
Delivering Compliance
In anticipation of the release of the list the FSA held a media call with various members of the national and trade press yesterday (Wednesday March 30), with the central theme of the briefing being the need for enforcement by retailers and local authorities.
To deliver compliance and remove the ‘many thousands’ of products which failed to make the grade the FSA is set to rely on Trading Standards and the nation’s large and small retailers.
Ms Miles said: “Tomorrow we will be releasing the confirmed list of CBD products one step closer to being authorised.
“We are calling on the industry, retailers and local authorities to bring the CBD market into compliance by prioritising the removal from sale of products not on the list.
“While inclusion on the list is no guarantee of authorisation…we wanted to take the step of publishing the list so local authorities, retailers and consumers can make informed judgements about what they stock, and buy, in order to bring this rapidly growing market into compliance with the law.”
While many large retailers will be able to swiftly align their product profiles, closing down on-line CBD brand websites will pose more of a challenge, and, following successive rounds of cuts, there is much scepticism over the ability of local councils to enforce the FSA’s request.
During the call the FSA acknowledged it did not expect to see a ‘big bang’ of enforcement rather that it expected local authorities to develop ‘their responses proportionately’ and ‘prioritise appropriately’.
Nevertheless, the development places the UK at the forefront of developing a regulated CBD industry, a point taken up by Mariam Zamaray, CEO of Pure Functionals, a developer and producer of innovative CBD and nature-based products.
She said: “This is a major landmark in the regulation and certification of CBD products. The publication of this list is a long over-due recognition of a consumer need for standardisation and confidence in products on the market, allowing people to make informed decisions on the choices available, as well as demonstrating the growing role of CBD in their everyday health and wellness routines.”
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One Year Late The FSA Publishes List Of Eligible UK CBD Products – For Now
