Now that novel food applications in Europe are delayed, what does enforcement look like?

Enforcement activity against food, drink and dietary supplement products placed on the market containing CBD continues despite the inability of companies to proceed with novel food applications due to the EC’s questions over whether CBD constitutes a narcotic under the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotics.

Earlier this month Sweden published three notifications about CBD containing foods in the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) portal.

In fact Sweden and Spain top the list of countries notifying on novel foods in 2020 – despite Sweden widely subjecting CBD to medicines legislation as interpreted by Sweden’s Medical Products Agency.

At the same time Spain, a strong fighter against allowing CBD products on the European market under novel food justifications, continues to seemingly permit the sale of CBD flowers through government licensed tobacconists.

Interestingly Germany, a former leader in novel food notifications, has significantly tailed off its number of RASFF alerts – only publishing three since the start of the year. In comparison Sweden and Spain have done 11 and 8 respectively.

In terms of companies targeted, Dutch and British companies appear to be bearing the brunt of the enforcement measures with seven and six (plus a seventh from Gibraltar, a British overseas territory) notifications.

All told it shows that novel food led enforcement against CBD food, drink and dietary supplement products on the market has not stopped despite companies being unable to advance the applications which would give them the authorisations required to be legal.

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CannIntelligence

This article was written by one of CannIntelligence’s international correspondents. We currently employ more than 40 reporters around the world to cover individual cannabis and cannabinoid markets. For a full list, please see our Who We Are page.