The National Industrial Hemp Council (NIHC) has filed comments with the Food And Drug Administration (FDA) to help direct its work on establishing a policy of enforcement discretion on CBD products.
The comments were filed after the NIHC participated in a listening session with the FDA’s CBD Working Group on July 27 in which members of NIHC’s Consumer Protection Task Force emphasized the importance of establishing basic safety standards to protect consumers in this nascent industry and committed to follow up in writing with detailed policy recommendations. Later that week, the NIHC met with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as part what is expected to be the forthcoming regulatory process.
„NIHC members support safety standards for our industry. We are well aware of the reports of inconsistent products that do not contain the ingredients listed on the label, those that feature unsubstantiated health claims, or which contain excessive THC levels or other contaminants,” NIHC board member Patrick Atagi wrote to the FDA in a letter filing the comments. „Our mission is to help advance the hemp industry through safe, reliably manufactured products that consumers can rely on and we’re glad to partner with FDA to bring this to fruition.”
The comments submitted by the NIHC are focused on five key regulatory points:
• Existing studies support safety of human consumption of CBD in dosing appropriate for dietary supplements and conventional foods.
• FDA should continue to allow marketing and sale of CBD cosmetics while it investigates CBD consumption’s systemic impact on humans.
• Clarity regarding standardized testing requirements and laboratory practices
• Standardized national manufacturing and labeling requirements for product transparency
• Definitions for key terms, e.g., „broad spectrum,” „hemp extract,” etc
„We believe that including these points in a policy of enforcement discretion would provide clear guidance for industry regarding FDA’s expectations for manufacturing and labeling CBD products,” Atagi concluded. „We thank FDA and, in particular, the CBD Working Group for its hard work and we look forward to working together in the future.”
You can read NIHC’s full comments to the FDA here.
The National Industrial Hemp Council is composed of international, federal, state, private industry, and government professionals throughout the sector.