As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to defy mounting requests from the U.S. Congress and the natural products industry to provide science-based and public health regulations for CBD, more states are rushing in to fill the vacuum. Iowa recently became the latest state to propose new state regulations for consumable hemp and CBD products.
“This is an opportunity for Iowa’s farmers to participate in the growing hemp marketplace and to provide consumers with more confidence to know that the products they use every day are safe and regulated,” said Daniel Fabricant, PhD, president and CEO of the Natural Products Association (NPA). “However, we are concerned that inaction from the FDA is creating the regulatory nightmare and patchwork approach that is the worst of all worlds. This is a federal regulatory issue, FDA needs to do its job, and they need to do it now. Further delay by FDA is not good for public health or for the CBD industry, because the best approach is one uniform national standard based on sound science that is enforceable.”
The proposed rule requires the Iowa Department of Health to establish by rule packaging and labeling requirements for consumable hemp products. It also requires the Department to establish registration requirements for manufacturers and sellers of consumable hemp products, including standards for the revocation of registration.
While supporting the proposal for its focus on consumer safety, NPA requested the state amend the proposed rule to eliminate the mandated consumable hemp retailer registration. Registrations such as this one, are not required for retailers who carry traditional dietary supplements, such as, vitamin D or calcium and NPA stated it believes should not be attributed to retailers who decide to sell consumable hemp products. Additionally, the rule as it is currently written sets a precedent that burdens retailers with a mandatory state registration for every single new product that they decide to sell, which only serves to burden an industry that has already been devastated by COVID-19, according to NPA.
For more information, visit www.npanational.org.
