The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced that food and supplements containing CBD will have to be registered by March 2021 or they could be removed from sale next year. This is a significant development for the industry and the dedicated Cannabis Law team at Mackrell.Solicitors will be working with the industry to ensure they get the answers they require.

Nigel Rowley, Managing Partner at Mackrell.Solicitors, said: “We anticipated and welcome this morning’s announcement by the FSA that they will be more proactive in regulating the growing CBD market going forward. The lack of clarity and certainty has always been a cause for concern for our clients and the industry as a whole.

“Our initial view is that strong regulation and a clear regulatory regime can only be positive for those responsible businesses that make up the majority of the industry.

“Questions still remain, particularly in relation to EU Novel Foods authorisation, and whether every business needs to apply or whether a blanket authorisation would cover each end-form of CBD. We will be seeking clarification from the FSA on this and report back to the industry once a greater degree of clarification has been obtained.”

Robert Sidebottom, Director of the Hemp and CBD Expo and a leader in the industry also spoke with the Cannabis Law team. He said: “This statement from the FSA has been a long-time coming, regardless of the views on CBD and Novel Foods it is consumer safety that is paramount.

“It should act as a clarion call to the sector to work together, education and advice is now more than ever critical for those working in the cannabis space, I encourage everyone to attend our event at the end of this month and talk to and listen to the leading of legal, trade and medical practitioners who are presenting.”

If you are concerned about the FSA’s statement and would like guidance, please call us on 44 (0) 20 7240 0521 or email cannabislaw@mackrell.com