Is the Safety of Our Food Supply Compromised?

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

The FDA Wants to Know as They Issue Warnings to Four Companies for Illegally Selling CBD Products Intended for Use in Food-Producing Animals

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warning letters to four companies illegally selling unapproved animal drugs containing cannabidiol (CBD) that are intended for use in food-producing animals. The companies include Haniel Concepts dba Free State Oils, Hope Botanicals, Plantacea LLC dba Kahm CBD and Kingdom Harvest. While the FDA does not know the current extent of CBD use in food-producing animals, the agency is taking steps regarding these unapproved and potentially unsafe products now to help protect animals and the safety of the food supply.

Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act, any product intended to treat a disease or otherwise have a therapeutic or medical use, and any product (other than a food) that is intended to affect the structure or function of the body of humans or animals, is a drug.

The FDA has not approved any human or animal products containing CBD other than one prescription drug product to treat rare, severe forms of epilepsy in children. Therefore, all other CBD products intended for use as a drug are considered unapproved drugs and are illegal to sell. Some of the claims made by the companies in the warning letters refer to helping “farm animals with stress, anxiety, pain, inflammation, injuries…” and providing “support to help manage normal stress, promote a calming effect, maintain a healthy gut, maintain a normal and balanced behavior, maintain healthy joints, maintain a normal inflammatory response….” These claims, among others, establish the intended use of the products as drugs.

Unapproved drugs like these CBD products have not been evaluated by the FDA to determine whether they are effective for their intended use, what the proper dosage might be, how the products could interact with FDA-approved drugs, or whether they have dangerous side effects or other safety concerns.

In addition to the CBD products marketed for food-producing animals, Free State Oils, Hope Botanicals, Kahm CBD and Kingdom Harvest also sell CBD-containing unapproved new drugs for humans and adulterated human foods. Some of the products were also marketed as dietary supplements even though CBD-containing products do not meet the definition of a dietary supplement. These products include oils, creams, extracts, salves, and gummies.

For more information on the proposed regulations for sales of unapproved animal drugs containing CBD, please visit us at: [email protected] and ref: Animal Drugs and CBD.