CBD gummies to soft drinks: UK warning casts cloud over growing industry | Food & drink industry – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

Millions of Britons consume cannabidiol (CBD) every day, whether to boost their concentration or manage conditions such as anxiety, depression and joint pain, or just because it is fashionable. It is so commonplace you can buy “gummies” in Tesco or a fizzy drink in a Waitrose meal deal.

Driven by the consumer craze for wellness and healthy lifestyles, the popularity of CBD products has exploded in recent years, but the burgeoning industry is now under a cloud after UK food regulators slashed the recommended daily intake for adults to just 10mg.

Although the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said there was no requirement to remove products from shelves, or to change labelling, it leaves retailers selling sweets and drinks that contain a lot more than the recommended daily dose in a single serving.

Products that adhered to the watchdog’s previous limit of 70mg had been left in “limbo”, said Marika Graham-Woods, the executive director of the Cannabis Trades Association, with consumers and retailers likely to be “alarmed and confused”. The move could also cause financial headaches for firms as it would probably raise the industry’s risk profile with banks, insurers, advertising channels and investors.

In the updated advice, professor Robin May, the FSA’s chief scientific adviser, said that the “more CBD you consume over your lifetime, the more likely you are to develop long-term adverse effects, like liver damage or thyroid issues”.

“The level of risk is related…