Thirteen companies making cannabidiol (CBD) products for pets were among the 15 warned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that their sales of CBD-containing pet and human items violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). On November 25, the FDA announced that it sent warning letters to the CBD product makers.
In many of these warning letters, the FDA noted that the the presentation and marketing of these brands of CBD pet products means that the items, "are drugs under section 201(g)(1) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. 321(g)(1), because they are intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in animals and/or intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of an animal. Further, as discussed below, these products are unapproved new animal drugs and marketing them violates the FD&C Act." FDA officials used marketing materials posted on CBD pet product companies' websites for many of these assessments.
FDA warning letters to CBD pet product companies:
- Koi CBD LLC, of Norwalk, California
- KOI Naturals CBD Spray for Pets
- Pink Collections Inc., of Beverly Hills, California
- Mr. Pink Natural CBD Oil for Pets (also referred to as Vegan Bacon Flavored Pet CBD Oil)
- Noli Oil, of Southlake, Texas
- Pet CBD Oil
- Natural Native LLC, of Norman, Oklahoma
- Native Pet CBD Oil (150 mg, 300 mg and 600 mg)
- Whole Leaf Organics LLC, of Sherman Oaks, California
- CBD-EX, CBD-MAX 1000 mg, CBD-RX, CBD Defend and CBD Enflame
- Infinite Product Company LLLP, doing business as Infinite CBD, of Lakewood, Colorado
- Pet Droppers and Launch Pad
- Apex Hemp Oil LLC, of Redmond, Oregon
- Apex CBD Livestock Pellets, Apex Organic K9 Oil and Apex CBD Dog Treats
- Sunflora Inc., of Tampa, Florida/Your CBD Store, of Bradenton, Florida
- SunMed Bacon Dog Treats, SunMed Pet Bark Bits Beef, SunMed Dog Lamb Bits and SunMed Pet Tincture
- Private I Salon LLC, of Charlotte, North Carolina
- Natural Flavor Pet Drops and CBD Pet Treats
- Organix Industries Inc., doing business as Plant Organix, of San Bernardino, California
- Hemp Pet Tinctures and Hemp Pet Treats
- Red Pill Medical Inc., of Phoenix, Arizona
- Red Pill CBD Pet
- Sabai Ventures Ltd., of Los Angeles, California
- Pets Tincture and Chill Chews Soft Chews for Dogs
- Daddy Burt LLC, doing business as Daddy Burt Hemp Co., of Lexington, Kentucky
- CBD Oil for Pets (250 mg bacon flavor)
CBD not Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) for pet foods
FDA officials also announced that the agency would not classify CBD as generally recognized as safe (GRAS), which would have allowed the ingredient to be used in foods based on historical human and animal use. The agency stated that it lacked sufficient empirical evidence supporting the safety of CBD consumption.
