The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that CBD foods cannot be labelled as an organic product if they are not authorized to be placed on the market in the EU, further complicating the legal status of the cannabis's main non-intoxicating cannabinoid.

The EU's top court's ruling is related to a challenge brought by the French Professional Hemp Trade Association (Syndicat Professionnel du Chanvre) against a communication from the National Institute for Origin and Quality (INAO), an agency part of the Ministry of Agriculture that regulates French agricultural products.

The ruling, issued today, underscores the intricate framework governing CBD in Europe, which is considered a novel food and therefore requires authorization to be placed on shelves across the EU markets.

The INAO issued a communication in 2021, stating that, except for hemp oil without CBD, neither products based on natural CBD nor food products enriched with CBD are eligible for organic certification. The French hemp association requested to revoke such a binding position, but as the agency didn't reply to the request, the association appealed before the French Council of State in 2022, seeking the annulment of INAO's decision. The following year, despite the INAO revoking its position, the Council of State referred the case to the EU Court of Justice to determine whether CBD could be certified as an organic product.

The court ruled that CBD foods cannot obtain organic certification until it is authorized to be placed on the EU market. While the category of agricultural products intended for food includes products of agricultural origin meant for human consumption—even novel foods regardless of their authorization status—such novel foods must still be authorized for sale before they can receive organic certification. In other words, being legally classified as food does not itself make a product eligible for organic certification.

The French court is now set to resolve the dispute between the French hemp association and the INAO following the EU court's interpretation.

CBD As Novel Food

The court ruling clarifies additional restrictions on the hemp industry in Europe regarding CBD as food. This cannabinoid is considered a novel food, which means it is a product that was not significantly consumed as food in the EU before May 15, 1997. Therefore, it needs pre-market authorization before it can be placed on the EU market.

Nonetheless, CBD is sold all across Europe in the form of oils, gummies, edibles, capsules, and beverages, with businesses operating in a gray area. This happens for several reasons. EU member states have adopted different approaches to how to regulate CBD, which makes law enforcement fragmented. Also, many retailers sell it as a product for non-human consumption, bypassing food safety laws. A 2020 ruling by the Court of Justice, known as the Kanavape case, also significantly reshaped the legal status of CBD in the EU, ruling that CBD is not a narcotic.

The Kanavape case originated in France, one of the EU member states with the strictest cannabis policies, which has implications for the hemp industry as well. In May, France banned the sale of foods and food supplements with added CBD following a strict interpretation of the EU food agency's provisional safe consumption levels for CBD.

In February, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) set a provisional safe intake level for CBD at 0.0275 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day. The regulation for THC in food is instead clearer, as it has been set at a maximum of 3.0 mg/kg for dry products such as flour, protein, and seeds, and 7.5 mg/kg for hemp seed oil.

As of 2026, no CBD product has received full EU authorization as a novel food.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com