UK Slashes Acceptable Daily Intake Of CBD In Foods To 10Mg: Why & How Will This Affect The Sector?

The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has significantly lowered the recommended daily intake of CBD from foods, after reviewing a joint position paper on the matter from the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Process and Committee on Toxicity (COT). Following the issued guidance, FSA now recommends a maximum of 10mg or “about 4-5 drops of 5% CBD oil” per day, down from 70mg recommended three years ago, writes Hemp Today.

This compares to a recommended maximum daily intake of 17.5mg CBD daily proposed by the European Industrial Hemp Association to the European Food Safety Authority.

The FSA confirmed it has reviewed information gathered during its safety analysis of more than 12,000 products that are candidates for market approval under the country’s rules for new foods.

“We continue to advise that CBD is not taken by people in vulnerable groups, including children, people taking medication (who have not consulted a medical professional) and those who are pregnant or breastfeeding and those trying to conceive,” the FSA stated.

The new advice on the maximum amount of CBD per day is not for products that are inhaled or applied to the skin.

The Concerns?

Robin May, chief scientific advisor at the FSA warned consumers about the possible liver problems. “The more CBD you consume over your lifetime, the more likely you are to develop long-term adverse effects, like liver damage or thyroid issues,” May said. “The level of risk is related to how much you take, in the same way it is with some other potentially harmful products such as alcoholic drinks.”

Per the report, “Chronic daily lifetime use of Pure Form (≥98% purity) in foods has yet to be fully assessed in a rigorous and scientific way. As a consequence, it cannot be ruled out that long-term daily chronic use of pure form (≥98% purity) at intake levels higher than 10 mg /day could contribute to the development of adverse effects over time, most notably in the liver.”

The updated recommendation on acceptable daily intake (ADI) is based on three 90-day repeat dose toxicology studies, which showed no adverse effect levels on the liver in rodents. The authors of the report confirmed that “important data gaps and/or uncertainties remain for reproductive and developmental toxicity, immunotoxicity, bioavailability of and –drug interactions. “

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Industry Impact, No Solid Evidence

“We understand that this change to our advice will have implications for products currently on the market that contain more than 10mg of CBD per serving,” Emily Miles, CEO of the FSA said in a statement. “We will be working closely with industry to minimize the risk, to ensure consumers are not exposed to potentially harmful levels of CBD.”

It is important to note that even though FSA did not order any product recalls, and it is up to retailers to decide if they are going to continue to sell products with higher doses of CBD than the new daily limit, the impact has already been felt. Holland & Barrett, a multinational chain of health food shops already removed more than 30 CBD products from its shelves that contain more CBD than ADI.

Cannabis-focused companies already expressed their disappointment with the FSA’s new recommendation. London-headquartered The Canna Consultants, a business facilitation consultancy dedicated to the service of the cannabinoid industry told Hemp Today that the changes are “a dagger blow to the whole of the UK CBD industry” and will cause consumer confusion and investors doubts. Canna Consultants warned about the loss of revenue, reduced tax revenues and inevitable layoffs.

Mike Barnes of Maple Tree Consultants, a London cannabis advisory, said the new ADI is “unsupported by any solid evidence base. As the average dose needed to have a well-being or medical effect is between 60 and 120mg daily then effectively this recommendation will shut down the industry.”

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Photo: Benzinga edit with images by Daniel Bendig on Binoid CBD on Pexels