On December 20, 2018, the same day the Farm Bill was signed into law, the FDA published a statement clarifying the position of regulatory authority over Cannabidiol-infused products; making clear that the FDA would both enforce action against CBD products while at the same time, work on paving roads for the proper marketing of hemp-derived products.
What Are Fda Warning Letters?
For the past 5 years that the industry has been humming along in the United States, the FDA has been known for issuing warning Letters to CBD brands making definitive claims of health returns against the products, with express directives for taking corrective actions within a 30 day period.
The times, however, are a-changing! The FDA now appears to be cooperative in working with brands to protect public health and safety, while averting their attention to the products containing CBD, to begin with.
This is a sign that a new position on Phytocannabinoid products is on the horizon from the FDA.
Recent CBD Recalls
To date, there are thousands of CBD brand names and options. We know everyone promises the best of the best, and time and again, the “best” just doesn’t stack up to “good enough”.
Often, we now hear of recalls not just for contaminants like lead, or heavy metals, but moreover, high levels of THC and or non-detectable levels of:
A lesson in “just because the label indicates, doesn’t make it so”.
In recent weeks we have heard stories of familiar brands found on convenience store shelves that do not have the potency of the product advertised, many of whom are finding themselves on the defending end of class-action lawsuits from consumers and resellers alike.
Recently the FDA stepped in to assist a brand promoting CBD products that are designed to be injected. The idea here is that by injecting the oil into the bloodstream the user would have an instant effect.
Injection models are a big “NO-NO” and as such, the FDA assistance included a recall and assistance to a “voluntary shut down” of that brand. They were afforded 48 hours by the FDA to plan an outcome.
Cannabidiol Life Continually Makes The Right Moves For Consumer Safety
Cannabidiol Life, mandated by the state of Florida, under a new law that went into effect with the start of 2020, went to great lengths in Q1 to acquire one of the first GMP licenses under the USDA program to operate in the state of Florida.
The process further included the registration of all Cannabidiol Life Brand products with the FDA. This now holds our brand to a higher authority and governing power to further secure the confidence of the consumer. Our CBD products, manufactured in our facility, will be:
- safe
- clean
- compliant
- legal.
What We’ve Learned
We learned a great deal in the process and set a “Gold Standard” almost unwittingly into the market, for others to reach for. It has always been our mission to put quality products, derived from simple methodologies of plant science into the market that can be deemed as nothing short of uncompromising quality.
We learned that taking the time to identify strict specifications for our raw ingredients was necessary to further ensure that our products do not present risk to the consumer by carrying higher than the federal allowance of Delta 9, contaminants, pesticides, or residual heavy metals.
We learned that combing COA’s thoroughly despite trusting our vendor partnerships, was key to ensuring safe starters in the formulation. We set out to create a traceable model that allowed us to track all product ingredients, from Full Spectrum CBD oil to CBD gummies with a fine-tooth comb, so that we could, with definitive confidence, promote the best and safest products in the CBD market.
Summary From The Author
The engagement and requirements now being put in place by both the USDA and the FDA are welcomed and long overdue. The consumer is at risk every day and while we continue to work for our place in the market and to become a household name in CBD, we, at Cannabidiol Life continue to toe the line as though the FDA lives in our offices with a constant watchful eye.
This is the way forward, one safe CBD product at a time.