Products developments with CBD are having success in the food market, urging regulation agencies across the globe to acknowledge its health benefits and economic potential.
According to the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry, the UK CBD market is probably the second-largest behind the United States. Multiple factors contribute to this scenario, but our regulatory framework may have played a major role in allowing the sector development.
UK Food Standard Agency has begun accepting novel food applications for CBD products and, currently, anyone can buy CBD oil products since they are widely available in shops, cafes, and for sale online. (for example, Sarah’s Blessing)
What exactly is CBD?
Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the many compounds of the cannabis plant, also known as marijuana. Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), another chemical found in the plant known for its psychoactive effects, CBD has different properties.
Some clinical trials have proved therapeutic benefits from CBD. Nowadays, cannabidiol is most commonly used for epilepsy or cancer side effects treatment. But it’s also been used to treat anxiety, pain, nausea, insomnia, and many other conditions or common health issues.
Aside from its pharmaceutical development, CBD has been incorporated as an ingredient in the food and drinks industries, with promising results for the economy.
How safe is CBD?
Cannabidiol is not psychoactive; you cannot overdose or experiment with any psycho effects from using it. It’s mostly derived from hemp, a variety of the Cannabis Sativa plant species that was industrially developed for many purposes. Although it’s derived from cannabis Sativa, hemp has a low concentration of THC decreasing its psychoactive effects. This plant, instead, has a high concentration of cannabidiol (CBD) and that is the reason why it has been legally accepted in many countries across the globe, including the UK.
According to WHO’s Cannabidiol (CBD) report, CBD exhibits no effects indicative of any abuse or dependence potential in humans and has been demonstrated as an effective treatment of epilepsy in several clinical trials. There is also preliminary evidence that CBD may be a useful treatment for a number of other medical conditions.
There is the unsanctioned medical use of CBD-based products with oils, supplements, gums, and high concentration extracts available online for the treatment of many ailments. CBD is generally well tolerated with a good safety profile. Reported adverse effects may be as a result of drug-drug interactions between CBD and patients’ existing medications.
WHO reports indicate that this is the reason why several countries have modified their national controls to accommodate CBD as a medicinal product and to date, there is no evidence of recreational use of CBD or any public health-related problems associated with the help of pure CBD.
According to the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA), CBD’s status as a novel food was confirmed in 2019, and it has already been incorporated into the European Commission’s Novel Foods Catalogue.
Food businesses can now apply for authorization to place CBD products in the Great Britain market. Through this process, FSA analyzes the product safety, requesting details of the toxicological studies undertaken to validate an application.
Aside from changing the legal framework and allowing business to authorize their CBD products, the UK Food Standard Agency has released suggestions related to CBD-based products, providing consumers with scientific information to decide its consumption.
FSA does not recommend CBD for people in vulnerable groups unless under medical direction. These include pregnant and breastfeeding women and people taking any medication. And regarding healthy adults, the FSA suggests, as a precaution, that they do not take more than 70mg a day unless a doctor agrees more. This is about 28 drops of 5% CBD.
In order to apply these suggestions, the bioavailability of CBD in different products must be considered because it varies according to the product type. Eating a CBD-based product, such as a bar of chocolate, gives the consumer a 20% of absorption rate. Meanwhile, CBD bioavailability through vapors provides 34-46% of the absorption rate. CBD-infused drinks currently have the highest bioavailability rate, reaching 50%.
Why is the food industry incorporating this ingredient in its products?
There is a growing public awareness across the globe regarding CBD therapeutical benefits. Aside from the medical use to treat serious illnesses or their side effects, it has been proved that CBD has positive effects of treating a wide range of common health issues, such as pain, inflammation, anxiety, depression, insomnia, nausea. Also, it improves relaxation, focus, acne, and sleeping.
Before the CBD edibles appeared, the easiest way to access CBD benefits was through oil ingestion. CBD oil has a strong and, for some people, disgusting taste. Consuming it through oil is not a tasty experience. It implies holding an oily drop in your mouth until it absorbs. That’s one reason why the food industry developed other ways of consumption that provides a more pleasant experience while allows the users to access CBD benefits.
CBD is an oil easily to incorporate in many solid foods, such as chips, cereal, honey, chocolate, gummies, cakes, croissants, among others.
Regarding drinks, nanotechnology is now allowing the food industry to blend CBD with liquids without ending with an oily result. That’s the reason why a whole new promising market is developing for CBD-infused drinks.
Considering the many benefits of CBD, its public acceptation and that hemp, the plant from which CBD is mostly extracted, is one of the fastest-growing, there’s a promising future for CBD-infused food and drinks.
How to check CBD quality?
High-quality CBD is safe, so finding the right place or brand to buy CBD is mandatory. There are some things that anyone who’s interested in buying should pay attention to.
The first thing to do is do online research in order to check the brand webpage, social media profiles, and reviews. A reputable company should have a professional online presence with favorable reviews on recognized sites.
Also, the CBD extracting process should be done through Co2 use, and a severe laboratory should test the resulting product following ISO standards.
To sum up, CBD edibles are transforming the food market, providing a promising economic future and a new way of understanding alimentation. Today it’s not only about eating healthy; it’s also about healing through food.
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