Cannabis supplements promoted by David Beckham, golf star Darren Clarke and socialite Meg Mathews are set to be taken off the market after a safety probe.
The Food Standards Agency has published a list of approved cannabinoid (CBD) products based on the strength of their testing processes.
And celebrity-backed supplements from the likes of Beckham, Clarke and Mathews fall foul of the agency’s new rules.
Products endorsed by David Beckham (pictured yesterday) and Meg Mathews (snapped on a red carpet in 2017) fall foul of the FSA’s new guidelines mandating strict testing regimes
But those endorsed by Anthony Joshua, Paddy McGuinness and Claudia Winkleman are featured on the list, meaning they can continue to be sold.
Half of the CBD products sold on Amazon and a quarter of those at Boots have failed to make the list and will have to be withdrawn from sale, The Times reported.
The FSA list does not assess the safety or nutritional value of items, just their testing procedures.
Ms Mathews, ex-wife of Oasis member Noel Gallagher, has already pulled her CBD supplements for menopausal women from the market.
The Primrose Hill socialite and former music executive runs two cannabis farms in England and Ireland.
Ryder Cup winner Clarke’s range, which includes forest fruit drops for £55, will reportedly make the list next week.
It’s not clear whether CBD supplements sold by Cellular Goods, which David Beckham owns 5 per cent of, will change their testing methods or leave the market.
The FSA sets food hygiene rules in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In Scotland, any CBD products with less than 0.2 per cent psychoactive THC are legal to buy.
High street CBD supplements are not classed as medicines, but foods.
That means they can’t make health claims. But advocates say CBD products can help people who struggle with sleep, anxiety and chronic pain.
In a statement, the agency said: ‘If a product isn’t on the list, retailers should remove it because it’s not attached to a credible application for market authorisation.’
SOME OF THE STAR CBD OIL SUPPLEMENTS LEAVING SHELVES
Ingestibles sold by Cellular Goods – part-owned by David Beckham – must be taken off the market after the FSA found its testing regime wasn’t tough enough.
CBD oral drops (left) remain on the seller’s website for £44 while the oral spray (right) retails at £49.
Cellular Goods claims they are ‘clinically proven as safe’ and contain no THC.
CBD oral drops (left) are still on sale for £44 while the oral spray (right) retails at £49
All products sold by Darren Clarke CBD have not made the FSA’s 3,500-strong list of sanctioned goods.
However, the firm said it expects its ‘lab tested’ products to appear on the list next week.
The supplements ‘designed for golfers’ claim to ‘reduce anxiety and improve performance’.
These four bottles of Clarke’s flavoured CBD oil drops will set you back a modest £180
Clarke also sells fruit-flavoured vegan CBD gummies, which cost £20 for a pack of 30
Just last week Vita Coco began selling its CBD cola at Sainsbury’s – but now it will have to be taken off the market.
You can still buy it online for now.
Vita Coco told The Grocer: ‘There appear to have been a few surprising absences from this list and we are waiting to see if the list will be updated to reflect this.’
The FSA cannot enforce food safety rules against shops but said it expects councils to do so.
The Association for the Cannabinoid Industry added: ‘The list is a major milestone and will increase consumer trust.’
And a spokesperson for Cellular Goods said: ‘We’ve been selling our ingestibles in good faith and firmly believe they’re fully legally compliant.
Ryder Cup winner Clarke sells forest fruit drops for £55 which ‘improve concentration’
‘We’ve approached the FSA to get further confirmation of the position of our products.’
The 3,500-strong list comes as the FSA seeks to crack down on what it deems ‘non-credible’ CBD supplements.
It also warned that cannabidiol supplements currently on the list could still turn out to be bogus.
Chief executive Emily Miles said last week: ‘Being on the list means that the application is credible and the FSA has, or is shortly expecting to receive, significant scientific evidence from the applicant with which to judge safety.
‘I want to emphasise that the FSA is not endorsing products on the public list.
‘Inclusion on the list is no guarantee that they will be authorised as they have not yet been fully assessed for safety.
Sales of CBD products were worth £690million in 2020, £164million above market predictions
‘But we have taken the step of publishing the list so that local authorities, retailers and consumers can make informed judgments about what they stock and buy.’
CBD product sales reached £690million last year, £164million above industry expectations.
The deadline for manufacturers to submit products for review was March 31.
Minutes from the FSA chief executive’s report in December said ‘the quality of applications was lower than we anticipated.’
The FSA says consumers should ‘think carefully’ before taking CBD products. It says healthy adults shouldn’t take more than 70mg a day.
The agency also recommends people in vulnerable groups, including pregnant and breastfeeding women and those taking medication should not use it unless under medical direction.
