At the beginning of 2020 it was announced that all manufacturers of food containing CBD must submit a novel food application in the UK prior to sale. It was also stated that foods and food supplements already on the market will require a validated application by 31st March 2021. You will need to ensure your products comply with the EFSA/FSA novel food legislation applied to CBD containing foods and food supplements.
Eco scientific expect this to cost anywhere between £30–80k. The process will follow the 5 following steps;
- Onboarding and Data gathering — this includes information on the production off the product and any test related data. This is expected to take between 4–6 months
- Submission — one all the data has been gathered the dossier will be greater and submitted for approval via the FSA/EFSA portal. This will take 1 week,
- EFSA/FSA Evaluation -they will evaluate the submission through the portal. This could take up to 9 months
- Questions from the FSA — you will then be required to answer any follow up questions, this is expected to take between 1 and 2 weeks
- Final approval — This should be received between 3–6 months after any FSA questions have been answered. You product details will then be uploaded to the union list of permitted novel foods.
More information can be found on the food standards agency website.
