CTA alleges failure of FSA to support the CBD and hemp industry amid Covid-19

The Cannabis Trades Association (CTA) has criticised the UK’s Food Standards Authority (FSA) for ‘failing to support’ the industry amid Covid-19, after the FSA declined to extend the requirements for novel food applications.

Earlier this year, the FSA announced a deadline of 31 March 2021 for businesses selling CBD products to submit a valid novel food application – warning that failure to do so by the deadline would result in products being “taken off the shelves”.

However, at the end of last month the CTA requested that the requirements be extended, in light of the impact of coronavirus upon the economy and raised additional concerns about the registration procedure.

A statement from CTA cited FSA’s refusal to grant its request: “The FSA has not received any evidence in support of the suggestion that recent events with COVID-19 has rendered CBD businesses incapable of formulating novel food applications to the appropriate standard to meet next year’s deadline.

“This view is additionally in the context of the background to CBD extracts and the fact that CBD businesses have already had well over a year and have just under a further year to progress novel food applications; a total of over two years.

“As such I can confirm there is no change in approach and the deadline as previously set out by the FSA remains.”

CTA refuted the FSA’s conclusions: “We consider this demonstrably incorrect.  Many of our members have had to furlough staff and in lockdown, business activities will clearly reduce. Staff in the laboratories and other ancillary industries will also be in lockdown and therefore capacity will be substantially reduced.”

The trade body said that it considered the FSA’s verdict to be particularly unjust considering many of its members have reportedly pivoted their operations to aid the NHS and other healthcare businesses. 

“A refusal to extend the deadline could see companies that have committed to this fight, potentially fail in the future when they do not have the time to fulfil the requirements for novel foods,” said CTA.

In concluding, CTA expressed its view that in any case the “majority” of CBD products in the UK market are unable to comply with the novel food regulations as, it says, they are manufactured from a natural ingredient “rather than a denatured and standardised one”.