WASHINGTON — The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) released the following statement in response to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) report to Congress on the current cannabidiol (CBD) marketplace:

“While CHPA welcomes additional input from FDA regarding CBD, we’re concerned that the report conclusion further delays any action to better regulate CBD-containing products. FDA’s report found that less than half of the products they tested contained the amount of CBD on the label. FDA’s report findings are consistent with data collected by a number of independent and academic groups testing CBD products over the last year. These reports, including one released this week, have all revealed a large percentage of CBD products containing levels of cannabinoids that are either lower or higher than declared on the label. Additionally, THC levels in a number of tested products are above the legal limit. Collectively, these third-party reports consistently confirm that the CBD/hemp product category would benefit from active regulatory oversight by the FDA and legislative action from Congress.

“CHPA respects FDA’s desire to gather more data, but we urge the Agency to take action on a path forward, as outlined by CHPA in a citizen petition submitted to FDA in November 2019. In the citizen petition, CHPA urges the Agency to exercise its existing statutory authority to swiftly issue regulations establishing a clear pathway for manufacturers to lawfully market CBD in dietary supplements. Such a pathway would put in place necessary safeguards to protect public health while also giving stakeholders a mechanism to provide much-needed safety data.

“CBD-containing products have proliferated in recent years, leading to increased calls from responsible dietary supplement manufacturers for FDA to take action and protect public health. In addition to CHPA’s citizen petition, CHPA joined fellow dietary supplement trade associations in a joint letter last year to Congress encouraging them to address this problem.”