Charlotte’s Web Holdings, Inc. (TSX: CWEB) (OTCQX: CWBHF)’s CBD products have now been validated by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the United Kingdom.
On Monday, the Denver-based, vertically-integrated company said its full-spectrum hemp extract has passed the validation phase and moved into the safety assessment phase of the Novel Foods application process. The company says this uniquely positions it in the growing U.K. CBD market and marks a milestone for its original formula.
Novel Foods are ingredients which are still not widely consumed by people in the U.K or the European Union (EU) before May 1997. New products need to be authorized by the FSA before they can be included on the list of novel foods and marketed for sale in the UK.
The FSA’s Novel Food authorization process for CBD offers regulatory stability and a viable path to full commercialization for CBD products within the UK.
As of March 2021, a validated Novel Food FSA authorization is required to sell ingestible CBD products such as oils, gummies, and capsules. Charlotte’s Web’s applications with comprehensive toxicity and safety studies have been validated and will proceed for risk assessment. This allows Charlotte’s Web to continue selling its products in the U.K.
Charlotte’s Web is also collaborating with The European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) which is part of the Secretariat Advisory Board (SAB), a European consortium of the UK’s and Europe’s leading CBD and hemp industry stakeholders.
The SAB is focused on encouraging the development of clear UK regulation for CBD that reflects evidence-based policy to safely serve the public and wider national interests engaged in public wellness.
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“Charlotte’s Web understands that product quality, safety, and brand values matter to global health seekers who are demanding premium full-spectrum products,” Charlotte’s Web CEO Jacques Tortoroli said.
“It’s critical to scaffold these emerging markets with the high bar set by our proprietary hemp genetics, scientific rigor and innovation practices.”
Charlotte’s Web products are available online via its exclusive UK distributor Savage Cabbage Ltd., one of the UK’s oldest and most trusted CBD companies.
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According to the analytics firm Brightfield Group, the number of CBD consumers doubled in 2019 and reached over 7 per cent of the adult population in 2020. CBD sales were more than US$250 million in 2020, which are expected to grow to an estimated US $1.3 billion by 2025.
