Across the Nutra-verse: Stopping CBD in the US is a ‘fool’s game’, Evolve BioSystems’s Asian research plan, and more

USA​

FDA commissioner says it would be ‘fool’s game’ to try to shut down CBD markets​

The new Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, Dr Stephen Hahn, MD, said that despite its continued concern about insufficient safety data, the FDA has no plans to try to shut down the CBD markets, adding that such a move would amount to a “fool’s game.”

Speaking at the Winter Policy Conference of the NASDA (National Association of State Departments of Agriculture) in Washington, DC., Dr Hahn said: “We know one thing, the American people are using CBD products. People are using these products. We're not going to be able to say you can’t use these products. It’s a fool’s game to try to even approach that.”​

Hahn continued: “We have to be open to the fact that there might be some value in these products and certainly Americans think that’s the case. But we want to get them information to help them make the right decisions.” ​

The text of the CBD portion of Hahn’s prepared speech spoke of FDA moving ‘deliberately’ to determine the safety of CBD products, especially as there is, “[S]till much we don’t know about the effects of sustained, long-term exposure to these products.”​

For more on this, please click HERE​​.

Europe​

Ireland updates CBD food and supplement recall​

In an update to a recall of CBD-related foods and food supplements, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has added an additional product to the recall product list.

“The implicated batches of CBD foods and food supplements contain unsafe levels of delta‐9‐tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) based on the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) acute reference dose,”​ the recall update sates.

“There are no immediate dangers associated with the consumption of these products.”​

For food businesses, including online retailers currently selling the implicated batches of the CBD products, the FSAI orders them to be immediately removed from sale.

The recall followed a FSAI survey​ that revealed 37% of the products tested had a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content that could exceed safety limits set by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

In addition, over 40% of samples varied significantly (over 50%) from declared CBD content, which the FSAI says, places consumers at risk of “being grossly misled to being put at risk by the ingestion of relatively high levels of THC”.

For more on this, please click HERE​​.

Asia ​

Evolve BioSystems to embark on research in Singapore, Hong Kong​

California-based microbiome firm Evolve BioSystems will soon embark on local research in Singapore and Hong Kong.

The firm, which is supported by big name investors Bill Gates and Li Ka Shing, already offers its flagship product, Evivo – a B. infantis​ EVC001 probiotic for infants – for sale in the two countries via its Evivo web store.

In Singapore, the company has recently signed an agreement with the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS) to find out the prevalence of B. infantis​ in the Singapore population.

For more on this, please click HERE​​.