the CBD Products Safety and Standardization Act (the Act) suggests that feds may regulate CBD as a food ingredient, and that it may regulate other cannabinoids. If the feds were to regulate CBD as a food ingredient, it could seriously change the game (in a good way) for hemp CBD companies. On December 2, Congress introduced the bill, a bipartisan bill that would set federal standards for food and beverage products containing hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD). If the law is enacted, it:
- Require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate CBD similarly to any other food ingredient;
- allow the FDA to regulate CBD as a food additive;
- subject these products to enforceable safeguards to ensure safety and accountability; And
- The Food and Drug Administration has been tasked with setting CBD content limits, packaging and labeling requirements, and defining classes of foodstuffs appropriate for use.
in a press releaseU.S. Representative Kathleen Rice (NY-04), one of the sponsors of the law, commented:
“CBD products are growing exponentially in popularity, but the lack of federal regulations surrounding them has put consumers at risk and left companies searching for clarity. The bipartisan CBD Product Safety and Standardization Act will establish the clear regulatory framework needed to provide business stability and ensure unsafe products stay away. about the shelves.
In other words, the goal of this new legislation is to protect consumers, provide CBD companies with much-needed regulatory clarity, eliminate bad actors and dangerous CBD products from the marketplace, and provide stability to growers, processors, distributors and retailers.
If you’ve been following this blog, you know that we Participate Rep. Rice’s view on the need to regulate the CBD. In fact, the FDA’s failure to act has led to the emergence of a vast, unregulated market in which the safety of many CBD products is in doubt. Most states have developed their own sets of rules and regulations for the manufacture, sale, and marketing of CBD products. This in turn has led to a patchwork of requirements that have made it extremely difficult – if not impossible – for industry players to ensure compliance.
In that sense, the law is great news – in fact, it’s backed by some of the key industry leaders, including Consumer Brands Association And American hemp round table. But what is worth noting here is the narrow scope of this legislation. Unlike other federal legislation that has been introduced in the past few years, including Access to cannabis and the Consumer Safety Act (S 1698) — which proposes legalizing the use of hemp-derived cannabinoids, including CBD, in foods and dietary supplements — the law addresses only the regulation of CBD, which is one of several hemp-derived cannabinoids sold on the market.
It will be interesting to see how these federal bills progress through Congress (if any) and whether federal lawmakers eventually legalize the use of all hemp-derived cannabis or only a few in end products intended for human consumption. We will continue to monitor these issues and will report on future developments.
