Hemp Association Proposes New Terminology for CBD and 3 Ingredients in the EU Cosing Database

The European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA), a German-based consortium of Hemp processing (fibre separation) companies, has recently released a detailed Position Paper that presents contention to prior conclusions made this year by the EU Working Group of Cosmetic Products, an advisory body set up by the European Commission to supervise on issues related to ingredients of cosmetic products.

EIHA stressed on the decisions made by the Commission Expert Group that fails to align the EU rules with the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the international protocol to control production and supply of specified narcotic substances.

The EU Working Group recommends removing from the Single Convention and establishing a new set of legislation for Cannabidiol or CBD, one of many Cannabinoids derived from the Hemp plant which has exception therapeutic values and accounts for 40% of the plants extract.

According to the “UN Single Convention”, there is no liability whatsoever in the proscription of production, manufacture, and usage if the cosmetic products do not fall under the proficiency of medicine and pharmaceutical regulations of its Member states.

In its paper, EIHA has appealed to annex all the ingredients derived from industrial Hemp, in the EU cosing database. EU Cosing is the official database of the European Commission for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients contained in them, for the purpose of labelling cosmetic products in the European Market. This database helps provide the individual EU member states anatomy to set up laws for cosmetic industries.

EIHA protested that the proposal by the Working Group is outdated and contrary to the global CBD trend, where nations worldwide are reforming their Hemp laws to tap into the fast-growing Hemp CBD economy. It will impair WHO’s recent scientific assessment of CBD, published by the Expert Committee on Drug Dependency or ECDD and its advocacy for removing CBD from the list of Controlled Substances.

 EIHA has proposed that the limit for THC in cosmetic products should not surpass 20 μg THC/g, and should be manufactured in compliance with the laws in the country of origin.

Under EU regulations state (Regulation 1308/2013), the cannabis plant is regarded as an agricultural product both for cultivation and seed production and maybe legally grown as long as its THC potency does not exceed 0.2%.

EIHA suggested new terminology for CBD and 3 debut listings: Cannabis Sativa leaf extract; Cannabis Sativa leaf/stem extract, and Cannabis Sativa root extract, based on the International Nomenclature of Cosmetics Ingredients (INCI), the most comprehensive and widely recognized international listing containing over 16000 ingredients used in cosmetics and personal care products.

CBD is trending not only in cosmetics but in a wide range of products from food supplements and sports drinks to health capsules and blends for humans and pets. Regrettably, there are lots of fallacious dogmas regarding the quality and the legality of their constituents. EIHA proactively aims to bring in changes in the Cosing database to gain profit from the expanding Hemp market and improve the CBD image in the European Commission.