CBD

Banking on the success of low-dose beverages, the cannabis edibles category is circumventing the regulated market and expanding into hemp-derived THC to reach new consumers in regions where adult-use dispensaries are not accessible.

The proposed regulations will create a Cannabinoid Hemp Program to license hemp retailers and processors and establish quality control standards for laboratory testing, manufacturing, packaging and labelling hemp products.

Although federal CBD regulations remain in limbo, some retailers are pushing forward to capitalize on consumer interest in the ingredient. This month CBD retail chain American Shaman opened its first ‘store-within-a-store’ concept inside of Kansas City, Mo.-based grocery store Price Chopper.

In a test of 200 CBD products the FDA found many contained CBD levels inconsistent with their labels — though not explicitly unsafe. The overall variability points (again) to what brands, researchers and advocacy organizations say is the bigger problem: lack of regulation in the budding industry.

Functional food brand Good Day Chocolate announced last week it would be entering the CBD fray with the launch of three new CBD-enhanced chocolate bites. The launch follows the close of $3 million in investment this summer and the addition of a new Chief Growth Officer with experience in the segment.

Here are a few recent developments in the past week on the U.S. government’s plans to regulate hemp and CBD.

BevNET and NOSH present: The Cannabis Forum for Food and Beverage, a new half-day forum, hosted on Saturday, December 1st, the weekend between NOSH Live and BevNET Live. The forum will bring to entrepreneurs from across the CPG industry the opportunity to focus on the intersection of food and beverage companies with the fast-growing cannabis industry.

In California, a revised FAW issued by the state Department of Public Health effectively prohibits the sale of hemp-derived CBD products, while the debate over defining an identity for the plant-based dairy category moves forward.