After months, if not years, of inertia, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) finally stirred, updating the CBD Public List with 320 amendments, including the removal of 86 products - in what can only be described as a belated and insufficient attempt at regulatory oversight.
For those forced to navigate the chaotic, inconsistent, and painfully sluggish UK Novel Foods regime, this update should be a moment of progress. Instead, it highlights just how far behind the FSA really is. The industry has been begging for regulatory clarity while the FSA sat on its hands, leaving businesses in an expensive limbo of compliance guesswork. The validation of 134 products is welcome, but let’s not pretend this is a significant breakthrough, it’s merely the FSA catching up to what should have been done months ago.
Breakdown of Key Changes: A Bureaucratic Nightmare
Product Removals Total: 86 (No clear justification beyond administrative ‘tidying’)
General Admin Changes: 234 (134 status updates to ‘validated’; 100 amendments, many of which were clerical)
Notable Updates by Business/Application:
- Excite for Life: 20 product names changed from '4' to 'for' - hardly an earth-shattering development.
- Charlotte's Web & Dushey Med: 4 products removed - no official explanation given.
- Charlotte's Web & Savage Cabbage (RP230, RP231): A staggering 54 products removed—an indication of just how fragile the process is.
- CROP England: 26 products reassigned from RP427 to RP438 - was this an error all along?
- Infinity CBD: All 35 chocolate products had name alterations - more administrative busywork.
- Naturecan: 1 product reinstated - after how long in limbo?
- Pure Life Naturals: 6 products removed - without clarity on why.
- RP70: 16 products removed.
- RP85: 9 products removed.
- RP126/127/91: 7 products reinstated - another example of unclear decision-making.
- RP242: 13 products removed.
- RP225 & RP238: Incorrectly listed under RP427; now removed from 11 product listings - another regulatory mistake.
- RP346: 134 products updated to "validated" - again, why did this take so long?
All affected businesses have been contacted and notified but only after months of uncertainty that has cost companies time, money, and trust.
The FSA’s Failure to Lead
This update is months old, yet it’s being treated as if it’s breaking news. The industry doesn’t need bureaucratic tidying exercises disguised as progress - it needs real-time regulatory decision-making. Instead of setting clear guidelines and keeping the process moving, the FSA has turned CBD regulation into an unpredictable waiting game where businesses are expected to simply absorb the financial damage caused by endless delays.
The truth is that this is not real governance, it’s damage control. The FSA has spent more time reacting to criticism than actually leading the market towards a structured, transparent, and fair system. Meanwhile, competitors in Europe and North America are surging ahead, while the UK falls further behind due to its stifling regulatory environment.
Businesses Forced to Exit the Market
One of the most damning aspects of this entire process is the number of businesses that simply could not afford to wait any longer. Many have voluntarily removed their products because they needed to focus on other, more stable markets.
Others have gone under entirely, unable to sustain their operations in the face of endless delays, uncertainty, and shifting goalposts. This is not a functioning regulatory environment, it’s a system designed to stifle investment, crush small businesses, and hand the advantage to larger corporations that can weather years of inaction.
Time for Accountability and Action
Let’s be clear: removing non-compliant products is necessary, but the FSA must do more than tidy up its paperwork every few months. A dynamic, transparent, and timely approach is long overdue - one that proactively supports compliant businesses rather than keeping them in an endless cycle of regulatory uncertainty.
So, FSA, congratulations on finally acting, but this industry demands more than reactionary housekeeping. If the UK wants to lead in CBD regulation, it’s time to overhaul the entire approach and start governing with efficiency, consistency, and foresight. Until then, the UK’s CBD sector will remain trapped in a bureaucratic stranglehold while global competitors leave us in the dust.
Published 30th March 2025
