Navigating the Use of CBD Oil as a Food Claim, September 10 and 11: Harris Bricken Presents!

This Wednesday, September 11, our own Vince Sliwoski will present at a marquee food industry event in Chicago. The topic will be “Navigating the Use of CBD Oil as a Food Claim.” This stand-alone presentation will occur alongside presentations from regulatory counsel at Whole Food Markets, Sargento Foods, Nestle USA, Non GMO Project and the USDA, to name a few. A handful of our law firm’s national retail and distribution clients will also be making the trip. For the conference landing page, including registration and agenda, go here.

Over the past year or two, we have seen a tremendous uptick in the manufacture, distribution and sale of hemp-CBD products. This trend continues to accelerate despite FDA’s clear position that these products are unlawful under the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act (“FD&C Act”). And, while the FDA has not been very active in enforcing this position, it recently dispatched another highly-publicized warning letter regarding hemp-CBD products on offer at CVS, one of the nation’s largest retailers.

As we have covered extensively on this blog, the manufacture and distribution of hemp-CBD products under the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills is a challenging area of law, and incredibly dynamic. The FDA is currently considering whether there is any path forward for these products under its reading of the FD&C Act, while USDA simultaneously writes rules that will affect the industry. The approaches taken by states and even local jurisdictions have been all over the board.

Despite all of the uncertainty and hassle, though, businesses and consumers are moving ahead. Today, you can buy CBD food products (and beverages, topicals, supplements, and pet products) at physical and online retailers throughout the United States. We don’t see that ending anytime soon.

We are honored and excited to have been asked to speak at this leading industry event on the issue of food claims and CBD, and we will continue to serve as thought leaders and advisers on this and related matters. For more on these issues, check out our tagged archives of hemp and FDA blog posts. Otherwise, best of luck to Vince in Chicago and we hope to see some of you at the event.