FDA Issues Warning Letters to 15 Companies For Illegal CBD Sales

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent warning letters Monday to 15 companies for selling products containing CBD in ways the agency said illegally breach the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

The FDA has released an amended Consumer Update detailing safety concerns over CBD products.

In the absence of enough scientific studies that back the safety of CBD in food, the FDA also said that it can’t confirm CBD is safe for its use in human or animal food.

Reports exist of CBD products contaminated with substances such as pesticides and heavy metals, and the safety concerns surrounding the substance include potential liver injury, drug interaction, diarrhea and changes in mood, according to the FDA. 

“As we work quickly to further clarify our regulatory approach for products containing cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds like CBD, we’ll continue to monitor the marketplace and take action as needed against companies that violate the law in ways that raise a variety of public health concerns,” FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Amy Abernethy, M.D., Ph.D., said in a statement.  

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The companies that received warning letters are:

• Koi CBD LLC of Norwalk, California
• Pink Collections Inc. of Beverly Hills, California
• Noli Oil of Southlake, Texas
• Natural Native LLC of Norman, Oklahoma
• Whole Leaf Organics LLC of Sherman Oaks, California
• Infinite Product Company LLLP, doing business as Infinite CBD of Lakewood, Colorado
• Apex Hemp Oil LLC of Redmond, Oregon
• Bella Rose Labs of Brooklyn, New York
• Sunflora Inc. of Tampa, Florida/Your CBD Store of Bradenton, Florida
• Healthy Hemp Strategies LLC doing business as Curapure of Concord, California
• Private I Salon LLC of Charlotte, North Carolina
• Organix Industries Inc. doing business as Plant Organix of San Bernardino, California
• Red Pill Medical Inc. of Phoenix, Arizona
• Sabai Ventures Ltd. of Los Angeles, California
• Daddy Burt LLC doing business as Daddy Burt Hemp Co., of Lexington, Kentucky

Some of the products mentioned in the warning letters are being promoted for infants and children; or are foods that CBD has been added to; some are promoted as dietary supplements; and one was marketed as being intended for food-producing animals.

The FDA demanded responses from the companies in 15 working days, with statements on how the companies plan to fix the violations.