Wondering What SQF Is Doing About Cannabis in Food??

Various geographical jurisdictions have or will be creating regulations that enable the use of Cannabis and Cannabis related compounds to be introduced as ingredients or as concentrates into foods, beverages or natural health products.  These regulations will merge with existing food regulations to create the framework of ensuring safe and quality products being sold into commerce.  The supply chains, ultimate buyer and retailers of these products will vary as will the contractual agreements between the various parties.  Commonplace among these contracts is the requirement to be certified to a food safety standard.   Retailers, manufacturers, and foodservice companies are supporting this approach as are some regulatory authorities.  The SQF Food Safety Codes that are GFSI benchmarked can be applied but will ultimately be dependant on the scope of the certification on the types of products and processes at the site or location that is being certified.

Don’t miss the session at the 2019 SQF Conference on Thursday, November 7^th at 8am to hear a panel of experts in the Cannabis/CBD space:

• Discuss the various industry sectors where THC and CBD can be introduced;
• The appropriate standards/sectors or codes to apply;
• Regulatory oversite and the requirements in different geographic regions; and
• What companies and sites need to know about potential hazards and control measures to apply.

The panel of experts are:
Frank Schreurs, Regional Representative, Canada & NW U.S.A., Safe Quality Food Institute
Dejan Spasic, SQF Auditor – Director FSQ, dicentra Global Certifications
James Keyes, Cannabis Q/A, Khiron
Rafael Bombonato, Corporate Quality Control Manager, Curaleaf
Tyler Williams, Vice President of Operations, ASI Food Safety

SQFI is developing supplemental checklists, guidance and auditor criteria that will allow SQF certification for sites growing Cannabis for use in edibles or manufacturing of edibles containing Cannabis.  Currently, Cannabis that has been designated as generally recognized as safe (e.g. Hemp products such as Hemp protein, Hemp Hearts and Hemp Seeds) can be certified.  Once edibles with Cannabis are legal for production in Canada in October, SQFI will publish the supplemental materials soon after that. Sites that have obtained the appropriate licensing from Health Canada will be eligible for certification.  If you are seeking an assessment prior to licensing, we suggest you seek out some consultative services to do that.  Some of our licensed certification bodies could assist in that manner and would have to ensure that resources used in a consultative manner do not complete the certification.

Visit www.sqfconference.com for more info and to register for the conference!