We have previously written about the success of our pan-European industry association - The European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA.org) - and explained how EIHA proposed changes to the CosIng database in October 2019 and how the EU implemented the proposed changes immediately after, thereby fully legalising Cannabis Sativa Leaf Extract in cosmetic products in all EU Member States.
The positive implications of the change in CosIng Database in October 2019
All our CBD-containing products are registered in the Cosmetics Products Notification Portal (CPNP) as cosmetics and are not being marketed for oral consumption.
Formula Swiss is one of just a handful of CBD companies in Europe that are not violating the Novel Foods Catalogue restrictions from January 2019, when the EU decided to classify CBD products as novel food.
Implications of the Court of Justice of the European Union in French court case C-663/18 (Kanavape case)
In November 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg released press release no. 141/20 about the judgment in French court case C-663/18. We have written about the important changes in this article.
The court case is about two French directors of a company that distributed CBD vape oil for electronic cigarettes in France. The CBD was produced in the Czech Republic from legal hemp plants and extracted from whole plant biomass, including the cannabis leaves and flowers.
In the Court’s judgment, the Court finds that EU law, in particular the provisions on the free movement of goods between EU member states (which include Norway and Switzerland), precludes national legislation such as that at issue.
The Court observed that the provisions on the free movement of goods within the European Union (Articles 34 and 36 TFEU) are applicable, since the CBD at issue in the main proceedings cannot be regarded as a ‘narcotic drug’.
In the last couple of months since November 2020, the ECJ ruling has changed the legal landscape for CBD products throughout the EU Member States and most local authorities have changed their legal stance on CBD products following the ruling, which clearly defines that CBD extracted from the entire hemp plant (including leaves and flowers) should not be classified as a drug.
Today’s changes in CosIng Database
Since the ECJ ruling in November 2020, The European Industrial Hemp Association has asked for an update in the CosIng Database and has requested to lift the bans on Cannabis Sativa L. (restriction under II/306) and to integrate more INCI (International nomenclature of cosmetic ingredients) entries into the database.
More specifically, EIHA has asked the EU to remove all bans related to cannabis entries in the CosIng Database by taking into consideration that the ECJ’s ruling explicitly refers to the whole cannabis plant approach (paragraph 76 of the Judgement). Furthermore, they have suggested that the EU add a new entry into the CosIng database called "CANNABIDIOL".
Today, the EU has accepted this change and implemented CBD into the CosIng Database. You can see the brand-new entry for Cannabidiol following this link. Please note that it is called "CANNABIDIOL - DERIVED FROM EXTRACT OR TINCTURE OR RESIN OF CANNABIS.
Furthermore, CBD has been added with the following functions: Anti-Sebum, Antioxidant, Skin Conditioning and Skin Protecting. These functions may now be marketed without giving CBD cosmetic products any medical effects.
This also means that as from today, not only cannabis leaf extracts are allowed in cosmetic products in the EU, but also naturally derived CBD.
We are of course very pleased about the changes in the CosIng Database and applaud EIHA and their hard-working team for making these changes on behalf of the entire European cannabis producing industry.
