The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has lowered the recommended safe daily dose of cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychoactive component of cannabis found in several functional drinks.
The FSA said today that healthy adults should limit their consumption of CBD to 10mg per day. Drinks brands such as Trip contain 15mg per can, while Goodrays contains 30mg of CBD per can.
The updated advice has been based on the average lifetime exposure to food products containing CBD, such as drinks, oils, sweets, bakery items or drops, the FSA said.
“Some products available on the market will have a higher dose of CBD per serving than 10mg a day, therefore consumers should check labels and consider their daily intake in light of this updated advice,” the FSA continued.
The novel food status of CBD extracts was confirmed in January 2019 and all CBD food products must apply for authorisation before they can be sold legally.
Professor Robin May, chief scientific advisor at the FSA said: “Our independent advisory committees have reviewed the safety assessments submitted by the industry as part of their novel food applications and we are advising that healthy adults should take no more than 10mg of CBD a day.
“The more CBD you consume over your lifetime, the more likely you are to develop long-term adverse effects, like liver damage or thyroid issues. The level of risk is related to how much you take, in the same way it is with some other potentially harmful products such as alcoholic drinks.
“We encourage consumers to check the CBD content on the product label to monitor their overall daily consumption of CBD and consider if they wish to make changes to how much they take based on this updated advice.”
Eoin Keenan, founder of Goodrays, said product safety is “of paramount importance” to the business.
“We acknowledge the new guidance from the FSA which has given a recommendation that healthy adults do not consume more than 10mg CBD per day. This guidance is based on three early market CBD products, and does not cover the majority of the market leading products.”
Keenan said Goodrays products were not included in the FSA risk assessment process that led to this change in guidance.
“Our CBD supplier has toxicology studies which show a much stronger safety profile, showing a 70mg recommended daily intake. All Goodrays products are laboratory tested to ensure safety and consistency.
“We welcome the efforts to improve the quality and safety standards of the CBD industry we are committed to working with the FSA to further protect consumers and advance the CBD market. We believe the next step is to publish individual risk assessments for each CBD product, so that dosage recommendations can vary based on product safety profile. We’re confident that guidance will soon change as the FSA recognises the quality of products like Goodrays.”
Keenan also pointed out that there is no change to the legal status of Goodrays products and the regulators are not advising on any de-listings or product recalls.
