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:
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.
Tim Wall covers the pet food industry as a senior reporter with WATT Global Media. Contact Wall via email at twall@wattglobal.com.
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