A new report from the organic watchdog group Organic Eye highlights some fraudulent marketing claims of organic CBD companies that pet owners need to be aware of.
The new report – “Spotting the Hackers of Hemp, The Value of Authentic Certified Organic CBD Products” – from the consumer watchdog group Organic Eye is…eye opening. The consumer group not only attempted to validate organic claims made by manufacturers of CBD products (both human and pet products), they did the responsible thing of reporting the companies that made fraudulent claims.
“Organic Eye’s report on CBD was generated in response to multiple accounts of questionable organic claims sent to us by industry stakeholders and concerned consumers. In it, we review the organic claims made by a cross-section of manufacturers of CBD products in this rapidly growing industry; provide an overview of organic CBD production and the certification process; and separate authentic organic products—certified organic from the farm to the consumer — from those with unsubstantiated organic claims.”
“If a company was found to be making organic claims for hemp, CBD, hempseed oil, or hemp extract, we attempted to verify their certified organic status by checking the Organic Integrity Database on USDA’s (United States Department of Agriculture) National Organic Program (NOP) website. If the brand/manufacturer was not listed,we contacted the company directly and requested the certificate for their organic products.”
“Many of the companies we investigated were indeed certified by an accredited certifier under the USDA organic pro-gram. When companies indicated that their products were organic but were not able to provide verification or evidence that the products were actually produced and packed by a certified organic operation, we included them in a formal legal complaint filed with USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service“
As example, one of the CBD products Organic Eye tried to verify organic claims was “Kore Organic” (this company sells multiple pet products labeled as organic). The report stated:
Kore Organic™ first came to our attention via a voluntary recall notice sent out by the FDA due to high levels of lead being detected in one of their products. The website makes “Organic CBD” claims but products do not appear to be certified organic. The name needs to be changed so it does not use the word “organic.” Kore Organic was included in the formal legal complaint filed by Organic Eye with USDA.
Click Here to read the Kore Organic recall notice mentioned above.
If you provide your pet (or yourself) with an organic CBD product, please read this report. Many brands that are properly certified organic are mentioned, along with the brand names of those that do not appear to be certified. Click Here to read the report. Click Here to visit the Organic Eye website.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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Lynelle Behler
March 24, 2021 at 4:05 pm
Wow I’m not surprised, but thanks for sharing!
Donna
March 24, 2021 at 4:35 pm
CBD oil is NOT regulated for humans,much less dogs. Why would anyone chance this? Time to think before jumping on the latest unproven trend.
T Allen
March 24, 2021 at 5:20 pm
Many companies are not organic because it costs a lot of money. Organic does not mean products are free of heavy metals, chemicals used in extraction, organic certified pesticides or mold. Supporting organic is great but not necessary! I highly recommend buying only human products in tincture or glycerin, liquid form (not concentrated!)so you can dose by the drop. Always, always buy from a company that provides a certificate from a third party lab that tests for the above listed “issues”. It’s usually at the bottom of the website and says batch or lot#. See Bluebird Botanicals and Elixinol for examples. If a company doesn’t provide this info for the lot # on your purchase, I’d return it. Yes it’s more expensive but giving your dog a dose of mold and toxins along with their CBD defeats the purpose. Same for you!
Jenn
March 24, 2021 at 9:39 pm
Hemp has the issue of being an accumulator so being “organic” may not be enough, and it should include testing for molds and toxins as T Allen mentioned. “Accumulators are plants that survive in soils with high levels of toxic metals by accumulating them in their aboveground tissues (often in organs or metabolized chemical forms so they are less likely to be harmful). They concentrate high levels of toxic elements relatively independently of the soil concentration.”
Debbie D
March 25, 2021 at 5:21 am
Many people are unaware..but if it does not have the USDA label..then it isn’t the 95% organic or whatever the USDA requires. so yep..just saying its organic isn’t enough. it needs the label.
chris
March 25, 2021 at 1:11 pm
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health-focus/warning-letters-and-test-results-cannabidiol-related-products
has warning letters from 2015 to 2020 for companies selling dog cbd products that are not tested to be what there label says.
I use this list if I am thinking about a company and see what they were warned about.