It’s easy to assume that all CBD products are safe, since they are now federally legal with less than 0.3% THC. However, anything can be legal and still be unsafe, which means it may serve you well to research all potential purchases for peace of mind.
If you have never bought CBD products before and you’re exploring your options for the first time, you may not know what you’re supposed to look for to know whether products are safe or not. Here are some of the most important things to do that may help you find out.
Look for a Certificate of Analysis
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According to heavensorganics.com, you can show that a CBD product is safe for consumers by offering a Certificate of Analysis (COA) from independent, third-party testing companies. These certificates allow people to see what’s in specific products before they buy them. They also enable companies to provide more accurate labeling to represent the product’s ingredients.
For example, if you want to claim that your products contain pure CBD, you can back up this claim with a COA that shows this same information. COAs also delve into each product’s purity, potency, cannabis compounds, and psychoactive ingredients.
If you’re buying CBD products online, and you’re not sure that the claims the company is making are accurate, look for lab reports on their website. If you can’t find any, you can request them from the CBD company, and if they don’t provide any, you can shop elsewhere.
Talk to Friends and Family
If your friends and family use CBD products for issues like sleep and stress, they may be able to recommend safe products they believe you can trust. Relying on friends and family for product recommendations also enables you to make an informed choice rather than being pushed into a sale by someone whose motive is to make money.
Everyone reacts to CBD in different ways, but you can ask your loved ones questions, find out how they use specific products, and learn about their experiences before you take the next step into purchasing.
Find Out Where the Hemp Is Grown
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You might not think it matters where hemp is grown, but it can when inferior soil can lead to toxins ending up in your product of choice. Hemp is a phytoremediation crop, which means that it cleans soil, air, and water that may have been contaminated with hazardous elements.
Once planted, hemp can absorb everything from pesticides and toxins to heavy metals and even nuclear fallout. Most people who want to remain safe when consuming CBD products buy from suppliers who purchase American-grown hemp. Some of the best hemp can be grown in California, New York, Vermont, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
Learn About the Extraction Process
There is a lot involved in the production process of CBD products, including extraction. There are also many ways to extract hemp, such as with butane, ethanol, and CO2. You can generally find this information in lab reports.
Many of the most reputable CBD product suppliers prefer CO2 extraction, which is a non-toxic process. CO2 extraction also allows hand-picked hemp strains to retain their many phytocannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids.
Pay Close Attention to the Label
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A label can’t tell you whether or not you can trust a product, but it can paint a telling picture of how much effort a business puts into making sure its product and labeling comply with FDA regulations while still prioritizing brand recognition.
Firstly, focus on the design of the labeling itself. If it’s poorly designed or printed on inferior materials, that can sometimes be a warning that a company hasn’t put as much effort into the manufacturing process as some of the leading product suppliers do.
Looking past label design, focus on what you can read on the label. Usually, there is a brand name and an ingredient declaration, with the declaration outlining all ingredients contained within the product you’re purchasing.
Reputable CBD product stockists also include a disclosure of material facts, which are snippets of information the average consumer wants to know, such as the type of CBD, manufacturing and expiration dates, batch codes, and the best time for use.
The active amount of CBD per serving and net contents also must appear on the labeling, with this information visible at the bottom of the outer packaging. If you’re unsure whether a product you’re thinking about purchasing meets the FDA’s labeling guidelines, you can contact their Food Labeling and Standards Staff for clarification.
Look At FDA Warning Letters
As a consumer, you expect the products you purchase to be what they are described as being, contain what’s written on the label, and provide any benefits also being claimed. That doesn’t always happen, and it becomes much harder to trust CBD product suppliers as a result.
If you’re concerned about a supplier’s history, check to see whether they have received warning letters from the FDA in the past. These are available to view on the FDA website, with full transparency around why particular businesses or companies received them.
Sometimes, it’s something minor, such as claiming that you will experience a particular benefit, even if it’s not guaranteed. However, sometimes it’s for something serious, like unsafe ingredients.
The absence of a letter for a particular business doesn’t mean their products are safe, nor does the presence of a letter mean products aren’t safe, but this may be one more thing you look at before deciding whether a CBD product is one you can trust.
Pay Attention to the Type of CBD
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There is more than one CBD type, and every business is different in their decision to stock all, some, or just one type. Full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, and CBD isolate are all options to read about before you make your final decision.
Full-spectrum CBD includes all parts of the cannabis plant and contains less than 0.3% THC. Broad-spectrum CBD contains only trace amounts of THC but has most cannabis plant compounds. You can also purchase CBD isolates that only contain CBD and no THC or cannabinoids.
Some of the best CBD businesses that stock broad-spectrum CBD products go one step further by using proprietary technology to remove all unwanted compounds, including THC, for a thoroughly THC-free product.
When you’re new to the world of CBD products, it’s not always easy to know where to begin. You can’t trust every CBD business you find, but you may not know how to differentiate between unsafe and safe products. Some of this information above may provide you with a foundation to work from so that you can make your decision with as much information as possible at your fingertips.
