CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - Regulators with the South Carolina Department of Agriculture said they are going to start cracking down on food products that contain CBD.
“I usually get about five people at a minimum that come for dog treats, as well as the gummies,” Ross Catanzarit said.
Catanzarit works at a vape shop that sells CBD food products. A release from the SCDA states officials are aware of the growing popularity with cannabis-derived food and animal foods, despite it being illegal to add CBD to a food product.
That includes any food product for human consumption, or animal.
“The Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has concluded that under the Federal Food and Cosmetic Act, CBD cannot legally be added to any human or animal food products for public sale” said Derek Underwood, assistant commissioner of Consumer Protection.
The CEO of a South Carolina CBD company said she wasn’t aware this was a part of the law.
“We were not aware,” Emily Harper said. “The 2018 federal farm bill legalized CBD, full spectrum CBD, and it has been used in pet products for years, and so I believe that confusion will be clarified fairly quickly.”
Underwood said this is identical to adding a drug to a food product.
Over the phone, Underwood said the SCDA is going to start enforcing the law that reads these food items are illegal to sell.
He said they have the power to put a product on hold and stop the sales.
“FDA has concluded that it is a prohibited act to introduce or deliver for introduction into interstate commerce any food or feeds to which CBD has been added,” Underwood said.
Harper said people are using the CBD food items the same that they would CBD oil, which is legal.
“Whether they are using it for their elderly grandmother, or because a child has seizures, or an animal has age related stiffness in their joints. Nearly every family is using CBD in some capacity,” Harper said.
Underwood said the SCDA must follow the lead of the FDA and regulators have already made a trip to Charleston to give a business a warning.
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