CBD industry group employs blockchain tech to verify product origins
CanCheck.org allows full transparency and accountability of CBD products that bear the CAN Quality Mark – a seal indicating a composition analysis has been conducted by vetted laboratories.
The product evaluation ensures a full spectrum composition is carried enabling precise levels of CBD, CBA-A, THC (<0.05%) and THC-A (<0.05%) to be quantified as well checking for contaminants.
The 16-point CAN checklist that CanCheck.org adheres to links to the EU’s food supplement legislation that requires verification of ingredients, CBD percentage levels, batch code, and details of the CBD product’s business operations.
“By using today’s blockchain technology to trace the production of hemp-derived cannabidiol products from shelf to seed, CanCheck will give consumers peace of mind when choosing their CBD products online and in-store,” explains Mark Reinders, CEO of HempFlax.
“Full traceability, in combination with a strict quality control regime such as CAN’s, is the only way to ensure product quality and protect consumers. We hope to see this level of transparency adopted by CBD producers worldwide as a trustworthy and accountable natural CBD market begins to take shape.”
Industry-led initiative
The industry-led initiative, which includes Dutch-based CBD specialists such as Quest-Medica, Sirius Products and Cibdol Netherlands, is a response to the ongoing confusion surrounding the EU’s classification of CBD as a ‘novel food.’
Current legislation remains inconsistent amongst countries within the EU with the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) recently setting 31 March 2021 as the deadline for firms to apply for novel foods status for its CBD products.
In a similar vein, the European Commission (EC) has also paused proceedings by suggesting that the Novel Food Regulation 2015, does not apply to cannabis plant extracts.
Essentially, this means CBD cannot be legally classified as a food and thus is not ruled by the Novel Foods Regulation.
Last month, the EC revealed that it is to decide whether to class non-synthetic CBD as a narcotic, a decision that would involve a new approval process since a narcotic cannot legally be considered a food, rendering the EU Novel Food approval process useless.
EIHA action
In response, the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) also revealed plans to invest €3.5m in CBD and THC testing.
The plans, revealed in June, would involve a twin-track approach to gain approval for its members’ hemp and CBD food products.
Here, technology would be used to differentiate between extracts containing naturally occurring level of cannabinoids in the whole plant, and isolates – the plant component considered the Novel Food.
CanCheck, developed in co-operation with Novatrace, a non-profit organisation that provides blockchain technology for product quality control, can be used by consumers at no cost.
“Such high levels of transparency will safeguard consumer trust and support the growth of those producers who comply,” adds CAN.
