USDA Organic Certification for Hemp and CBD Products Will Play a Big Role in Consumer Trust and Safety

When consumers shop for CBD products, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with the variety of products and brands that deeply saturate this emerging market. With a lack of strict regulation to oversee CBD products, many people don’t know what to look for to ensure that the product they purchase is safe and effective. Because CBD is still new to many people, there is a large percentage of buyers that know very little about what to look for during their buying journey. A first time CBD buyer can easily become overwhelmed and choose a product that looks nice rather than one that is safe, effective, and thoroughly tested. 

According to High Yield Insights, “More than 25% of new market entrants purchased CBD to cope with pandemic-related stress and anxiety.” With that said, brands should be aware that such consumers may be unsure about what to look for in a product that is carefully sourced, safe and effective. When it comes to cannabis products there is currently no agency that vets products and oversees the industry to ensure compliance with growing and manufacturing measures that would monitor safety and consistency. The 2018 Farm bill put organic hemp farms under the authority of the USDA and FDA, allowing hemp farms to work with the National Organic Program to obtain USDA Organic certifications. 

The USDA certification ensures authenticity, and instills confidence in consumers when they choose a particular CBD brand, which is why we are so excited to have finally achieved this certification for our new line of CBD tinctures with incann. For consumers, they feel these products can be trusted. The process of obtaining USDA certification is arduous, as hemp farm growing fields must meet strict pesticide-free criteria for seven years prior to planting. These measures apply to neighboring properties as well. In turn, the USDA certification ensures authenticity and instills confidence in consumers that their product is safe. Now, consumers can look for USDA organic marks when they shop for CBD products and feel good about what they are putting in or on their bodies. 

Obtaining the USDA certification emphasizes the importance of transparency and traceability for not only brands, but the entire cannabis industry. The more we familiarize consumers with the option of USDA Organic CBD products, the more likely it is that we will see this trend become a mainstream practice for cannabis companies, increasing public assurance of this plant as medicine. Making USDA Organic the new standard in cannabis will improve product transparency and likely increase public acceptance that products are properly audited and regulated to ensure particular CBD products are safe, effective, consistent, and free of harmful chemicals.