Thirty-eight CBD products in Ireland have been taken off the shelves following testing.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has warned residents that some cannabidiol products currently on sale in the country are in breach of food laws and could pose safety risks to consumers.
This comes following news that the UK will take CBD products off the shelves if manufacturers don’t submit them for testing.
The decision to carry out a national survey on 38 products in the country was clearly the right one, since the majority of products were found in violation of various laws.
A huge 37% of those tested exceeded the THC safety limit set by the European Food Safety Authority, meaning batches of these products are currently being recalled.
In a statement, the FSAI said the results indicate a larger problem with THC in CBD products which merits further investigation.
It added: “While consumer safety is the priority, the undeclared presence of THC in these products can also pose a risk for drivers, as well as athletes who may be buying and consuming these products without knowing they contain a psychotropic substance.”
The survey also found 41% of samples containing a different amount of CBD from what was on the packaging; all those products differed from their labeling by more than 50%.
Another 34% of products were determined to be novel foods, which are immediately classed as illegal.
Novel foods, or foods that were not consumed to a significant degree by humans before May 15, 1997, require authorization before being placed on the EU market.
50% of the product packaging was found to present misleading claims, another big no-no in the CBD industry.
Some claimed to be lactose or glucose-free; others made various health and medicinal claims. Although CBD users have shared the various potential health benefits of CBD, brands should not promise these effects.
The FSAI added: “The implications of these results for consumers range from consumers being grossly misled, to being put at risk by the ingestion of relatively high levels of THC.”
The large majority of the 38 products tested had been made outside of the country, which makes it difficult to determine just how many CBD-based products are on the Irish market, according to FSAI Chief Executive Dr. Pamela Byrne.
She stated that products coming from outside of the country ‘have not been notified to the FSAI contrary to legal requirements, and are traded online’.
She further added: “We carried out this survey to determine exactly how compliant these products are with EU and Irish food legislation. People consuming CBD products, where the quality control is poor, may not be getting what they are paying for and also could unwittingly be exposing themselves to psychoactive THC.”
Products containing too much THC could lead to harmful side effects and cause unknowing users to fail workplace or sporting drug tests.
The FSAI is now working with the Environmental Health Service of the HSE to diminish the number of illegal products currently on the market.
Dr. Bryne added that further appropriate action will be taken on the matter.
The recalled products are as follows:
- 3% Raw Hemp Oil from uHemp
- Bubble Gum CBD from Plant of Life
- CBD Cannabis Oil from Canabidol
- CBD Citrus from Extreme Labs
- CBD Drops from Voda
- CBD Oil from Four Five CBD
- CBD Oil from Green Light
- CBD Oil from Little Collins
- CBD Oil 3% from NICBD
- CBD Oil from Provacan
- CBD Oil Spray from Hempful by Nature
- CBD+ from Jacob Hooy
- HEMP + MCT Oil – Feel the Difference from CBDFx
- ION Certified Organic Hemp Flower Phyto-concentrate from CB1 Botanicals
- Paste Hemp Extract from Eco CBD
For further information on the batch numbers and sell-by dates of the recalled products, visit the FSAI website.
