For more than 18 months,FSA has been evaluating the safety of CBD products in line with the U.K.’s Novel Food requirements.This assessment process was accessible to any CBD product formulated for oral use that was on sale in the U.K. on or before February 13, 2020, with the deadline for applications fixed at March 31, 2021. It only applies to products for oral consumption, not inhaled or topical products.
Only products on the list will be able to stay on the market. The press release states that Trading Standards officers will likely apply the new rules immediately, meaning that companies that continue to see unlisted CBD products will be putting themselves at risk of enforcement action.
The U.K. market for consumer CBD products was worth £690 million in 2021, according to ACI estimates, more than double the level of sales in 2019, making the U.K. the world’s second-largest market for consumer CBD behind the U.S., the press release states.
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“The FSA has put in a tremendous amount of work to assess the many applications made, including the super-dossier submitted by ACI on behalf of our members,” said Steve Moore, Founder of ACI. “A key concern will be helping people to find out quickly and easily if the CBD products they are purchasing or offering for sale are permitted and safe. ACI’s new website,UKCBDList.com, will be the definitive source of information for determining this.”The site will enable consumers, retailers, and health practitioners to ensure that they are buying and selling only permitted products. Interested parties can enter their email on the website to be notified when the list goes live.