How the EU is responding to unsafe THC levels in food

The European Food Safety Agency has set the maximum allowable daily intake of tetrahydrocannabinol at 1 mcg (microgram) per kilogram of body weight in foods.

On the pages of the specialized electronic edition of national cannabis growers, the question has already been repeatedly raised that the market for food products, cosmetic preparations, as well as various kinds of additives (biologically active, food, dietary, etc.) manufactured on the basis of therapeutic properties is rapidly growing in the EU countries. hemp plant. At the same time, specialized government agencies, as well as responsible business entities, strictly control these products due to the fact that they may expose customers / patients to a negative impact. For quite a long time, the editors did not react in any way to publications in the EU press that even food products containing unacceptable amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are regularly withdrawn from sales, however, the decision of the Irish government structure on this issue once again focuses on the fact that that the amount of the above psychoactive cannabinoid should be strictly controlled.

In early 2020, a report from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) looked at THC levels in 12 different hemp product categories, including hemp oil, bread and tea. More than 1,500 samples were collected from the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Romania. The report concluded that THC levels in people who consume large amounts of hemp products may exceed the safety threshold for THC and potentially lead to negative effects on the central nervous system and increased heart rate.

Understanding the negative potential of THC's impact on the human body, a number of public and private structures with a certain frequency “remove” from retail sales hemp products, which include an unacceptable amount of substances that negatively affect the human body. Often, the list of such goods includes food products or dietary supplements in which THC significantly exceeds the maximum permissible norms established in the EU. For example, an investigation in early 2020 found that the Jacob Hooy CBD oil sold in the UK by Holland & Barrett had a THC level of 12.4 mg, more than 12 times the UK statutory limit of 1 mg per package. German discounter supermarket chain Lidl, widespread in Europe, recalled hemp products sold in the EU, which contain high levels of THC, in August 2021, warning consumers that their consumption may cause "unwanted health effects such as mood swings and fatigue." ...

Since early 2021, the UK Home Office is requiring all businesses that import large quantities of CBD isolates or distillates to obtain a controlled drug license, and products containing cannabinoids be tested for tetrahydrocannabinol.

The Food Standards Authority of Ireland on September 18, 2021, urgently withdrew from the market a number of CBD supplements in which the amount of THC exceeds the legal limit.

Commentary of the specialists of the Association "Ukrainian technical hemp"

In 2015, the EFSA set the maximum allowable daily intake of THC at 1 mcg (microgram) per kilogram of body weight in foods. 

I would like to believe that hemp “illiquid” food products, cosmetics and various additives that are removed from the EU market due to the unacceptable amount of THC in them will not be sold in our country.

During the specialized round table "Exponential growth of the market for non-traditional therapeutically active elements of hemp" held as part of the training of the next course, students of the " Hemp University " will be provided with up-to-date information not only on the market of food products and additives made on the basis of the therapeutically active properties of hemp leaves and inflorescences. plants, but also the algorithm proposed for the implementation in our country of the mechanism of “launching” the market, which is based on the massive use of the medicinal properties of the plant for industrial purposes, in which the THC levels in the final product will be several times lower than the maximum permissible norms that are regulated by law EU.