Hemp as food application rejected by health ministers

Low-THC hemp as a food product is off the table once again after Australian and New Zealand health ministers rejected an application to lift the Food Standards ban on hemp as food.

The decision was made at an Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation meeting in Auckland on 30 January.

Following a review of Application 1039 - low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) hemp as a food, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) had expressed its support for a change to the Food Standards Code to permit foods derived from low-THC hemp.

However, despite noting that FSANZ found that foods derived from low-THC hemp seeds do not present any safety concerns as food, the forum rejected FSANZ’s recommendation to change the code.

Several forum members expressed concerns regarding law enforcement issues (particularly in relation to roadside drug testing) and cannabidiol levels. They also suggested that the marketing of hemp in food may confuse consumers about the acceptability and safety of cannabis.

This is the third time the forum has rejected the possibility of permitting low-THC hemp seeds as food. However, the forum did commit to further work on the issue.

According to ABC Rural, the Tasmanian government strongly supports a lifting of the ban.

“While we are disappointed by the rejection, we are encouraged that the forum has agreed to continue work on this important issue,” Tasmanian Health Minister Michael Ferguson told the ABC.

“[The] decision was a missed opportunity to remove an unnecessary prohibition on the use of low-THC hemp in food products.”

The day prior to the forum’s decision, significant changes to Tasmanian legislation around the industrial hemp industry were announced by Jeremy Rockliff, Tasmanian Minister for Primary Industries and Water.

Interestingly, the sale of low-THC hemp seed food is banned in both Australia and New Zealand, but hemp oil is permitted for human consumption in New Zealand.