A recent poll conducted by international research data and analytics group YouGov reveals the scope of CBD consumers’ concerns regarding product safety. The survey was performed for Colorado-based broad spectrum CBD brand retailer and manufacturer Joy Organics.
For reputable manufacturers, standing behind the safety, content and quality of their products is paramount to building and maintaining not only consumer confidence – but also retailer confidence. Those manufacturers take steps like subjecting what they make to third party lab testing, providing certificates of analysis (COA) and clearly labeling their packaging.
In the public opinion poll consisting of 2,440 respondents throughout the United States, YouGov discovered that nearly half of all Americans who take CBD are worried the products they consume might be dangerous.
Of the respondents with safety concerns, 31% cited contaminants as their primary worry and 29% cited harmful additives. Those concerns are shared by products retailers, who along with many manufacturers see the need for regulatory testing practices.
“The bottom line is this: if a company does not test through third-party laboratories and publish the results from each batch, you cannot know what their products contain,” warns Darcie Moran, director of quality assurance at Joy Organics. “Hemp is a known bioaccumulator, meaning it has a special ability to absorb contaminants in the soil, contaminants that may later end up in hemp-derived products.”
Beyond third-party lab results, consumers can also look out for disease claims (which are not FDA compliant), check ingredients lists for the presence of high-quality carrier oils and the absence of harmful vape flavors or cutting agents, and verify company reliability through third-party reviews available online at, for example, Yelp or Google.
“Even as this industry has matured, the lack of regulations and accountability is still worrisome,” said Moran.
Which makes it all the more important for retailers to ask vendors for COA for all of the products they’re interested in retailing. If a product maker balks at that request? Consider doing business with another supplier.
