Independent analysis reveals more illegal and unsafe products on the market
Liverpool and London, UK, 19th September 2019 / Sciad Newswire / TTS Pharma Limited, a producer of the highest quality, legal and safe cannabinoids (including Cannabidiol (CBD)) for use in food, cosmetics and nutraceuticals, today announces the results of an independent analysis of its CBD oil. The analysis shows TTS Pharma’s CBD oil is free from THC and CBN as well as harmful environmental contaminants. A simultaneous landscape analysis of CBD consumer products currently available in the UK, commissioned by TTS Pharma, revealed products contaminated with illegal levels of THC and CBN, harmful environmental impurities and inaccurate labelling of CBD content.
TTS Pharma engaged an independent analytical laboratory, Fera Science Ltd, to undertake a series of in-depth analytical tests to ensure that its product fully complies with all regulatory requirements. The analysis demonstrates that TTS Pharma’s CBD oil is completely free of THC and CBN (within the limits of detection, <0.0001%) and confirms that the isolate is exempt from the Misuse of Drugs Regulations (UK Government 2001).
Alongside the analysis of its own product, TTS Pharma commissioned a landscape study of 31 CBD products currently available on the UK high street. Of the samples tested, the results revealed:
- Inaccurate labelling
- CBN and/or THC were found in almost half of the samples (13, 41%), most of which were above the legal limit
- All ten samples found to contain THC were above the 1mg legal limit
- Nine of the thirteen samples contained CBN
- Four of the nine samples which contained CBN were above the 1mg legal limit
- Less than half (thirteen of the samples tested) were within 10% of the stated level of CBD
- Four samples contained less than 50% of the level stated, and five exceeded the level stated
As the hemp plant, which is the source of CBD, naturally removes contaminants from soil, water and air (phyto-remediation), commercially available CBD may also contain a variety of these harmful impurities. A further analysis of three of the UK’s top selling CBD products, showed presence of some of these toxic substances including terpenes, heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs/dioxins) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs/furans). These may have significant health implications including cancer, liver and kidney damage and neurological toxicity.
TTS Pharma CBD oil was shown to be free of all of these impurities, however, the three popular available products tested were shown to contain some or all of these impurities.
Mark Tucker, CEO of TTS Pharma, commented: “We are committed to creating the purest CBD oils and isolates, setting standards over and above current regulation to raise the bar in CBD product production. All three of our independent analyses demonstrate an urgent need for greater regulatory control of currently available CBD products to safeguard consumers from making product choices which ultimately may be risking their health. The implications of such a rapidly growing market, being flooded with illegal products, cannot be ignored. Without detailed analysis of CBD products, by manufacturers and suppliers, consumers cannot be sure whether the product is safe to consume.”
TTS Pharma applies pharmaceutical standards to produce the highest quality, legal, fully licensed cannabidiol (CBD) for use in food, cosmetics and nutraceuticals. The Company has a fully traceable supply chain system: CHOtrak, which utilises in-line production controls to establish provenance throughout the supply chain. Currently TTS Pharma is the only UK company able to offer quality assurance from source through to the shop, with detailed product traceability plus Product Liability insurance as an integral part of its product offering.
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Press enquires:
Sciad Communications Ltd
Maria Patey
TTSPharma@sciad.com
+44 203 7550571
TTS Pharma Ltd
Mark Tucker, Chief Executive Officer
mrtucker@ttspharma.com
Bo Tandrup, Director of Business Development
btandrup@ttspharma.com
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Notes to Editors
About TTS Pharma Ltd
TTS Pharma is a private company, established in 2012 with offices in London and Liverpool. The company holds deep industry expertise in drug discovery, drug delivery, extraction, separation and manufacturing of psychoactive ingredients. The Company has begun sales of its highly purified cannabis related products and technologies on a Business to Business basis. The company respects all existing legal and regulatory requirements in the UK and expects to gain further permissions related to these products in due course.
About the test methodology
This analysis uses specific protocols utilising high sensitivity LC-MS/MS alongside HPLC in its detection of controlled cannabinoids. This means that it is able to detect levels of cannabinoids to a higher degree of precision (approximately 0.0001%) than HPLC alone (0.04%), giving 400x greater confidence as to the absence of THC and CBN in the TTS Pharma samples (TTS Pharma Data on File/Fera Analysis 2019). The analysis shows that the TTS Pharma samples do not contain more than approximately 0.0001% of controlled cannabinoids, equivalent to 1mg/kg, which provides the required proof that batches of up to 1kg will not exceed the threshold stated by the Misuse of Drugs Regulations (UK Government 2001). The limits of detection of the LC-MS/MS method were equivalent to between 0.05 and 0.25mg, significantly below the threshold given in the Misuse of Drugs Regulations. Additional testing at scale is under-way and results will be delivered in the coming months.