The Polish Supreme Court Validates the Use of Hemp in Food

It’s a bit like the Polish version of the French battle around CBD flowers. Kombinat Konopny wins an important legal victory for the hemp trade, allowing it to sell hemp in food. The Supreme Administrative Court agrees with it, knocking back the opposition of the Polish regulator, the Chief Health Inspectorate (ISC).

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Understanding the Hemp in Food Confusion

To understand this controversy about the use of hemp in food, we must first explain the European regulations.

Since 2018, the European Union (EU) has required that any food that has not been consumed before 1997 must go through a (long) authorization, called novel food authorization before it can be sold on the market. For example, chia seeds are one of them, and the Polish regulators were hoping it could mandate hemp in food to be another.

CBD, as a molecule, can also be considered as such. But not in all its forms, as the Polish Supreme Court reminds us.

In 2019, the Polish regulator withdrew a hemp in food product from the market sold by the company Kombinat Konopny. The reason given: these hemp capsules have not obtained novel food authorization.

So the legal process begins. The company first lodged a complaint before a court in Warsaw, but lost. It therefore appealed, and found herself arguing that its use of hemp in food was perfectly legitimate before the Supreme Administrative Court.

Hemp in Food History Dates Back to Before 1997

“The regulator first misinterpreted the Novel Food regulation, and then initiated an incomplete prosecution, ignoring the documentation provided by the opposing party, as well as the evidence provided by the authorities that they could not ignore”, states the court ruling on the hemp in food case, as reported by Hemp Today.

To achieve this victory, the wife and partner of the CEO of Kombinat Konopny delved into the archives. She had to prove to the courts that hemp in food has a history in Europe dating back long before 1997.

This turned out to be particularly the case in countries throughout Eastern Europe, such as in Latvia, where it is part of the culinary culture.

Unfailing Evidence Leads to Win

“The unfailing evidence presented by the party indicates that hemp was historically consumed as food and as a dietary supplement to a normal diet,” the court continued.

This court decision could help many other European countries to allow hemp in food. Since Poland is part of the European Union, other EU hemp traders will be able to use this court ruling to make the case that the use of hemp in food should be allowed.

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(Featured image by Elas Olofsson via Unsplash)

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