The European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) represents the common interests of the hemp operators in Europe. In 2019, EIHA decided to join forces and founded the Novel Food Consortium. The scope of the Consortium is to submit joint Novel Food applications and share the safety assessment costs between consortium members.

For more information visit: EIHA Novel Food Consortium

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) considers hemp extracts (e.g.CBD = Cannabidiol) as ‘Novel Food’.

Novel Food is defined as food that had not been consumed to a significant degree by humans in the EU before 1997. A Novel Food can be newly developed food, or a food produced using new technologies and production processes. If food is considered “novel” it must be authorized by the EU Commission and undergo a ‘pre-market safety assessment’ before it can be legally sold.

According to the Novel Food Catalogue, both isolate and full spectrum CBD extracts are considered a novel food, for which a Novel Food authorization is needed to put these products on the market.

In 2022, the UK Food Standard Agency (FSA), published a list of CBD products allowed to be sold to consumers. These products need to be compliant with FSA requirements. Companies who fulfill the FSA criteria and are correctly enrolled in EIHA projects GmbH are listed under RP427 for isolate and RP438 for full spectrum.