Perkins Coie’s Food Litigation 2019 Year in Review assessed key legal issues facing the food and beverage industry. Among these topics was cannabis, and especially hemp-derived CBD, in food and beverage products. The 2018 Farm Bill ushered in a new era for cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD). Following the law’s passage, products containing CBD have continued to proliferate throughout the country. In late 2019, the FDA revised its Consumer Update concerning products containing CBD, particularly food and drink items. Per the FDA, “It is currently illegal to market CBD by adding it to a food or labeling it as a dietary supplement.” The FDA also issued more than a dozen warning letters to manufacturers of CBD products.
Numerous class action lawsuits were launched against CBD product manufacturers in the wake of state and federal action surrounding CBD. As one article put it, “The CBD lawsuit floodgates are opening.”
Please see the full Food Litigation 2019 Year in Review report for more detail about cannabis.