The Netherlands
February 23, 2021
HempFlax combine harvester
HempFlax, Europe’s largest independent hemp grower and processor, welcomes the submission of a Novel Foods application to the UK Food Standards Authority (FSA) by the European Industrial Hemp association’s (EIHA) Novel Food Consortium, more than five weeks ahead of the FSA’s 31st March 2021 deadline. The application covers natural CBD isolate and full spectrum products, and is submitted on behalf of the consortium’s 183 member businesses, of which HempFlax is a founding member.
As part of the application, the consortium will provide the FSA with a toxicological studies package, which focuses on evaluating the safety of its products. The consortium has also opted to strengthen its application further by offering more comprehensive data on six years of stability tests that support the analytical profile and stability of its members’ products.
HempFlax extracts CBD-rich feedstock, grown across 2,400 acres of European farmland, into CBD raw material which is further processed into blends, capsules and various consumer products, marketed under a number of leading CBD brands including Jacob Hooy, one of the UK’s best-selling CBD brands. In 2020, HempFlax produced CBD with a retail value of approximately €63m, a 43% increase on 2019.
EIHA has assessed that an individual company would be required to invest between £300,000 and £450,000 in order to register a single product under the Novel Foods guidelines. The EIHA Novel Food Consortium reduces this cost per company substantially and the consortium will invest up to £3 million to finance all relevant toxicological studies on CBD and THC as part of its Novel Food applications.
Following submission of its application to the UK FSA, HempFlax will remain a member of the EIHA Novel Food Consortium, which will submit an additional application to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), with the objective of securing regulatory approval to the EU market.
Mark Reinders, CEO of HempFlax, commented:
“Consumer safety and product quality are front-of-mind at HempFlax and we are immensely proud to have partaken in EIHA’s Novel Food Consortium alongside over 180 of our peers in the European hemp sector, many of which are SMEs that would be unable to afford the application’s costs alone. Regulatory clarity will turbocharge the growth of the UK CBD market, benefiting both the UK exchequer and Europe’s vibrant hemp sector.
Transparency is nothing new to HempFlax. We were a founding member of the Cannabinoid Association of the Netherlands which pioneered a first-of-its-kind, free-to-use online CBD search tool - CanCheck.org – which enables consumers to trace CBD products from the shelf to seed, with every link along the supply chain verified by blockchain, whilst also guaranteeing accurate levels of CBD. We look forward to continuing our key role in supplying our UK customers and remain excited to play our part in the next stage of responsible CBD commerce in the UK and Europe.”
About HempFlax
HempFlax is Europe’s largest independent grower and processor of industrial hemp. The company has operations across Europe, with over 2,400 hectares of hemp expected to be harvested in 2020. Processing the whole hemp plant enables HempFlax to maximise revenues across their six business lines:
- Nutraceuticals (CBD)
- Hemp based plastic replacement
- Construction
- Animal Care
- Horticulture
- Genetics and Cultivation
By leveraging a 25-year history from seed to shelf, HempFlax intends to be the market leader in the fast-growing hemp industry. For further information, please visit https://www.hempflax.com/
About Hemp
Water usage : Hemp requires a fraction of the water other crops need to grow
Carbon Sequestration ; Hemp absorbs and stores CO2 from the atmosphere; Industrial hemp grown on land the size of a rugby field absorbs around 8.5 metric tonnes of CO2, more than any other crop.
Soil Enrichment : Hemp is an extremely effective phytoremediative plant; it is able to remove toxins and even radioactive materials from the ground, stabilising and enriching the soil. Hemp was grown on the Chernobyl nuclear site.
No Pesticides or Chemicals ; Hemp does not need any pesticides, herbicides or chemicals to grow. It is naturally organic and releases nutrients into the soil. Further, its very low THC content acts as a natural deterrent to pests and diseases.
Applications
Hemp is a waste-free crop; it is exceptionally versatile, and the entire plant can be used over 10,000 applications including CBD oil, paper, clothing and of course insulation
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