British Cannabis™ reacts to FSA Novel Food list

BRITISH CANNABIS™ is on track to be the UK’s preeminent CBD producer, following the publication of the FSA list last week.

BRITISH CANNABIS™, registered as CBD Health Foods Ltd, is celebrating the monumental breakthrough of 310 of its products successfully passing onto the crucial next stage of the UK Novel Foods process for CBD food supplements.

As of Thursday 31st March, the UK cannabis product specialist now manufactures nine per cent of all CBD food supplements legal to sell in the UK, following successful inclusion on the Food Standard Agency’s Novel Foods public list.

The UK’s Food Standards Agency updated the public list of CBD food products linked to novel food applications, with 3,536 individual products either carrying a ‘Validated’ or ‘Awaiting Evidence’ status.

Possessing 310 unique products, across 15 thorough applications (20 per cent of all applications through to the next stage), gives BRITISH CANNABIS™ the highest number of products permitted for general sale of any brand or manufacturer.

This resulting nine per cent share of the UK market by choice of products includes 75 of the company’s own-brand portfolio, from the CBD by BRITISH CANNABIS™ (FKA Canabidol™), Access CBD™ and CBD Health™ ranges. 

Also progressing on towards the ‘validation stage’ are 235 individual products across several leading brands ‘Powered by BRITISH CANNABIS™’ under the company’s white label manufacturing services.

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The products prominent in the FSA public list made by BRITISH CANNABIS™ include sublingual CBD oils, CBD capsules and edible food products such as CBD gummies and Gel-Tabs™.

Following on from the  announcement, thousands of other products which are not present on the FSA public list are recommended to be removed from sale in retailers across the UK, with Trading Standards set to roll out plans for enforcement in the coming weeks.

The news comes at a critical moment for the CBD products industry as brands and manufacturers sold on the UK market, on or before February 2020, were invited to apply for pre-market authorisation, with a deadline of 31 March 2021. 

In the interim, the FSA has been considering the evidence presented by over 800 applications, covering an estimated 10,000 products attempting to stay on the market.

Making this achievement of particular note is the fact that BRITISH CANNABIS™ products are among the few remaining on the market to use ‘100 per cent cannabis”, naturally derived formulas in their CBD oils, thus they contain the hundreds of clinically proven plant phytochemicals found in cannabis, whilst also being zero THC. Its food supplements are also free from other restricted cannabinoids.

BRITISH CANNABIS™ CEO, Thomas Whettem, reacted shortly after hearing the news.

“This is a monumental moment for our company and a recognition of three years of work and investment from myself and our dedicated project team,” he commented.

“Our aim from the start in 2015 has been to act as an authority when it comes to CBD products that people can trust. Now, having cornered the market with nearly one-in-10 of the CBD products remaining legal to sell in the UK, I am galvanised that we are on our way to achieving this goal.

“We had 15 individual Novel Foods dossier submissions to the FSA, spanning thousands of pages and many hours of providing evidence. This gave us a substantial 20 per cent of all of the RP numbers appearing on this public list today.

“The evidence gathered included our thorough testing, product safety and purity, and our passion for compliant products that do and contain what we say they do. It’s our vision that retailers and consumers alike will be able to continue to place their trust in BRITISH CANNABIS™ for many years to come”.

Managing director, David Ralson, added: “I can hardly put into words how excited and proud this announcement makes me, both for my team and for all of the customers that support our products. To be confirmed at this time as the most predominant manufacturer in the UK for the number of products on the FSA public list is gratifying for all of the dedication we have put into doing things the best way possible and in order to make our products sustainable for the future.

“Our partners at the ACI (Association for The Cannabinoid Industry) have been supporting us in progressive communication along the way with both the FSA and Trading Standards. As soon as the consortium toxicology study that we have partaken in with the ACI and its members is ready for release, we look forward to our products currently listed as ‘Awaiting Evidence’ on the public list to move on to ‘Validated’ status, and then to full approval in the next year or two.

“I would encourage all of our customers and consumers, existing and future, to check the FSA public list carefully; is your CBD supplement on the list? If not, why? Our Primary Partnership with Berkshire & Buckinghamshire Trading Standards sees us ready to advise retailers who have questions about this process and what compliant CBD products they should be stocking. We are delighted to be able to offer them a greater choice of compliant cannabis food products moving forward than any other manufacturer.”

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