CBD Edibles Can't Be Labelled Organic, Says EU Court
The Court of Justice of the EU has ruled that CBD-based food products cannot be certified as organic. In Thursday's ruling, the court said the products are not technically legal on the EU market.
CBD, or cannabidiol, is a non-psychoactive chemical component found in marijuana. The ruling is a setback for consumers looking to buy gummies with CBD derived without pesticides, and for the Professional Hemp Trade Association, which launched the case in France.
In some European countries, wellness shops are using a legal grey zone to sell CBD products that are not explicitly marketed for human consumption. In France, some hemp sellers wanted to sell them with an organic label. But the judges shut that down.
The European Commission classifies natural CBD as a so-called novel food, and it has yet to receive authorisation to be sold on the EU market.
The hemp sellers had challenged the refusal by France's National Institute for Origin and Quality to grant organic certification to CBD edibles.
The high court said CBD can be certified as organic only after it is authorised for sale on the EU market. The court reasoned that the certification is more than a decorative badge, saying it conveys a more general promise of quality and acceptance of a given product in the eyes of consumers, with this positive image being an intended commercial effect. Putting it on a product that has not been approved for sale could be misleading. The ruling is also consistent with earlier national-level measures, the court noted.
The organic label setback looks to be the least of hemp sellers' problems in France, the report said: Paris ordered edible CBD products to be pulled from the shelves completely this past May.
