The council seeking to establish a fair competition code for CBD-containing foods and cosmetics held its first seminar in Tokyo, outlining the direction of guidelines on CBD content and labeling requirements. It also called for joint research to verify, through scientifically grounded product design, responses to the risk of conversion to THC.
The General Incorporated Association Cannabidiol Safety and Assurance Council held its first seminar in Tokyo on the 21st, announcing plans to establish a fair competition code as an industry self-regulatory framework for labeling CBD-containing foods and cosmetics. The seminar outlined the basic framework for the code, taking into account appropriate CBD content and legal requirements concerning residual substances and other matters.
The council was established in January last year, and former Vice-Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Futagawa Kazuo (二川 一男) became its representative director. It currently has 5 member companies, including Green Trade Japan of the DMM Group. A certain number of participating businesses is required for the code to be certified as a fair competition code, making it necessary to broaden support for and compliance with the code.
The proposed definition would cover products containing CBD above a specified percentage of total weight. Proposals included making the labeling of CBD content and concentration mandatory, along with recommended intake amount, method of consumption and precautions for food products, as well as an analytical certificate for CBD. Regarding the risk of THC conversion, the council proposed joint research to verify product designs tailored to different conditions based on scientific evidence.
President Shibata Kousuke (柴田 耕佑), who gave a presentation, argued that the industry should establish a system capable of determining the conditions under which CBD can be handled. In light of the risk of THC conversion, the view was expressed that CBD content should be set toward the upper limit, and that product designs also need to be reviewed from the perspective of preventing misleading representations of product quality.