Cannabis oil firms are set to sue Food Standards Agency over plans to clamp down on CBD products and stop shops selling them unless they can prove their benefits

• FSA announced plans in January to reclassify CBD products as ‘novel foods’
• May lead to removing CBD from shelves if manufacturers can’t prove they’re safe
• CannaPro, a trade body that represents more than 50 CBD companies, has threatened to use the Human Rights Act to bring legal action

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Firms that sell an oil extracted from cannabis are poised to sue a Government regulator over its plans to crack down on the industry.

An estimated 250,000 Britons use CBD oils and capsules which are sold by high street retailers including Holland & Barrett and marketed as products that can reduce anxiety and pain.

But the Food Standards Agency (FSA) announced plans in January to reclassify CBD products as ‘novel foods’ rather than ‘food supplements’.

‘An unlawful process’: CannaPro chief Peter Reynolds has threatened to use the Human Rights Act to bring legal action if the FSA goes through with its plans to reclassify CBD products as ‘novel foods’

It could lead to the removal of products from shelves if manufacturers cannot prove they are safe and achieve the stated benefits.

CannaPro, a trade body that represents more than 50 CBD companies, has threatened to use the Human Rights Act to bring legal action if the FSA refuses to back down. 

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In a letter seen by The Mail on Sunday, lawyers for CannaPro say: ‘Should our client, or any of its members, suffer any associated loss as a result of any misclassification of their products as novel foods, they will be seeking compensation. Any such claim would be significant.’

But Tory MP Craig Mackinlay criticised the move, saying: ‘The response from CannaPro shows how intertwined financial interests are with cannabis-based products. 

Big business: CBD oil and capsules on the CannaPro website. They are currently labelled as ‘food supplements’

Cannabis and the chemicals it contains are heavily under-researched and we should not be risking the wellbeing of the public by allowing these products to flood our markets.’

The worldwide CBD market is expected to be worth almost £2 billion by next year.

CannaPro president Peter Reynolds said: ‘The whole process has been misguided and unlawful. The idea that CBD products can be regarded as novel is nonsense.’

The FSA, which is funded by taxpayers, said it wanted to ‘clarify how to achieve compliance in the marketplace’.

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