Tests conducted by the US Food and Drug Agency (FDA) have found that 55% of cannabidiol (CBD) products contain significantly more or significantly less of the compound than indicated on their labels. The agency also found that almost half of CBD products contain THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis.
In late 2019, the FDA was asked to conduct a sampling study of CBD products to determine their labeling accuracy. This led the agency to analyze 147 randomly-selected products and measure their levels of 11 cannabinoids, including CBD and THC. These products included oils, capsules, edibles, drinks, and pet products, bought from places where you can buy cbd oil online.
All in all, tests revealed that while 18% of the 102 products tested for CBD had significantly less of the compound than indicated on their packaging, 37% had substantially more. At the same time, 49% of these products also contained THC, even though they were not supposed to.
From the 20 edible and beverage products tested, five had less than 80% of the CBD indicated on their labels, and six had over 120% of that mentioned on their labels. Only two products claiming to contain CBD did not contain any at all.
"The FDA's recent report on the labeling accuracy of cannabidiol (CBD) products further affirms the need for federal regulatory clarity," says Betsy Booren, senior vice president of regulatory and technical affairs at the Consumer Brands Association.
"Allowing bad actors to continue to put products on the market, unchecked, is a threat to consumer safety everywhere. The consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry applauds FDA's efforts and urges Congress to provide more funding and resources to FDA to move quickly through this process."
The FDA's overall takeaway is that more testing is needed. As the data collected is from a limited sample size, they stress that it should not be used to draw too many conclusions about the overall marketplace. For that, they say that a long term study is needed to include a larger number of products form more retail sources.
Sources: Food and Wine, Food Dive