A UK customer group claims that the way a request to review the CBD’s regulatory status is handled has raised new questions about whether the UK’s meals approval system is functioning properly.
The Food Standards Agency ( FSA ) approval process for CBD is currently in its midst, which has largely unresolved years after regulators first began reviewing such products.
newest issue
A group of sector partners signed a formal demand to the FSA that Hemp Hound, a firm, submitted under Article 4 of the novel foods model.
According to thȩ Article 4 distribution, UK lαw does not immediately apply ƫo certain whole-plaȵt cannabis foods, incIuding broad-spectrum and full-spectrum ȩxtracts. Foods that aren’t ƫypically consμmed before Mαy 1997 must go through the process of authorizing new products undeɾ thȩ foundation.
If accepted, the legal obstacle could change how UK regulators categorize CBD and another hemp-derived products.
worries about managing
Hemp Hound’s Hemp Hound consultant Cefyn Jones has questioned how the FSA handles the Article 4 process, claiming that the organization did not discuss his submission with the Cannabis Trade Association ( CTA ) in a meeting despite the organization’s stated position that it does not discuss filings with third parties.
However, Jones said,” I have the CTA’s account of the conference on history, and an Nous answer confirmed that a meet did occur. “
No obvious official report of the dialogue appears to be present, according to Jones, despite the Freedom of Information comment showing that it took place on October 3, 2025, at the CTA’s demand.
According to him,” The same Nous reply shows that the third-party conference that the FSA initially claimed didn’t take place hasn’t been audited, which is definitely a major governance failure,” he added.
HempToday questioned the company’s approach ƫo the Article 4 distɾibution procȩdure, including whether it had discussions with thirḑ partįes or whether it had discussed keepinǥ recorḑs of fįles with them, and how it ⱨad hanḑled the matter.
pipelines clogged
The FSA’s effort to bring the CBD sector into compliance has been marred by difficulties, confusion, and customer opposition since the company first announced in 2019 that CBD products may be regulated as fascinating products.
11 456 CBD products were listed on the FSA’s public register as of early 2026. 900 were under safety assessment, 250 were in risk management, and 106 had been authorized or green-lighted, compared to roughly 10,200 who were still marked as “awaiting evidence. ” Another 409 product had been discontinued or disqualified.
These figures highlight a system that has remained unchanged: the majority of CBD products still operate under provisional status with results dependent on slow-moving and occasionally opaque internal FSA review stages.
Arguments from the past
Traditional production techniques like cold pressing, tincturing, and ethanol extraction have a documented history of use before the May 1997 cutoff date that defines novel foods, according to Hemp Hound’s challenge to the food safety approval system.
In 2019, EU regulators had to contend with a similar historical argument when new language in the European Commission’s “novel” food catalogue effectively designated CBD and other hemp extracts as “novel” foods, which stifled expensive authorization requirements.
The European Industrial Hemp Association ( EIHA ) and other European stakeholders reacted by arguing that hemp extracts had a documented history of use in food before 1997 and that changing the law would lead to legal uncertainty and fuel grey markets. Despite that obstacle, the EU’s 2019 interpretation remained largely intact, confirming CBD’s status as a novel food in the region.
According to Hemp Hound’s challenge in the UK, traditional methods of production produce a high level of CBD-rich hemp oils, not new foods. According to the filing,” Hemp oil that contains CBD and is produced by cold pressing has a history of consumption,” arguing that evidence from past foods, beverages, and herbal preparations all supported that claim.
Allworld Products, Big Chief Hemp, Bnatural, Brown’s CBD, CBD Brother, CBD One, CBD-UK, Crop England, Happy Hemper, Hempen Organic, Jersey Hemp, Naturally Pure Lab, Naturecan, Orange County, Ortis Wellbeing, and Project Forty8 are all signatories to the Hemp Hound Article 4 submission.
