CBD and Regulations

If you've looked into CBD products a bit, you've probably noticed that some providers promise a lot – relaxation, better sleep, less stress. We deliberately do not do that. Not because we have nothing to say about our products, but because we are serious about transparency and legal compliance. In this post, we explain why that is.

In Germany and the EU, products such as our oral oils are subject to several legal frameworks simultaneously:

The EU Cosmetics Regulation (Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009) defines what a cosmetic product is allowed to do and how it must be advertised. Among other things, it stipulates that advertising claims must be verifiable, truthful, and not misleading – and that only cosmetic effects (care, cleansing, external appearance) may be advertised, not health-related ones. This is precisely why we speak of care and application for our oral oils, not of health effects.

The German Medicinal Products Advertising Act (HWG) regulates how health-related products may be advertised. In particular, it prohibits statements that give the impression that a product can cure, alleviate, or prevent diseases – unless this effect has been scientifically proven in a corresponding approval process.

The Novel Food Regulation specifies which foods and food ingredients are marketable in the EU at all. CBD extracts are considered "novel foods" here, for which there is currently no final approval. This primarily affects us if a product were intended for ingestion – but it shows how closely regulation scrutinizes.

The Health Claims Regulation determines which health-related statements for food are permissible at all. Only statements that are listed in the official EU register and have been scientifically reviewed may be used. For cannabidiol, there are currently no approved statements.

These four sets of regulations – the Cosmetics Regulation, HWG, Novel Food Regulation, and Health Claims Regulation – overlap in their effect: even if a statement were permissible under one regulation, it might already be inadmissible under another. Therefore, we always adhere to the strictest standard.

Our oral oils are cosmetic care products. This means: We describe how they are used, what ingredients they contain, and how they feel – but we do not claim that they help with specific ailments or have a health effect. Even though we know that many customers are looking for exactly that.

This is sometimes a balancing act. We would like to tell you more. But being a reputable company also means for us not to make promises that we are not legally allowed to prove – regardless of what other providers do.

Instead of grand promises, we rely on:

• Full transparency regarding ingredients: origin, extraction process, laboratory analyses
• Independent test certificates, which you can view with every product
• Objective information about hemp, cannabinoids, and the plant itself – without deriving efficacy claims for our products from it
• Honest communication about the legal situation, as in this article

We believe that informed customers are better customers. That's why we prefer to explain once too often why we don't say certain things, rather than raising expectations that we are not allowed – or legally unable – to fulfill. If you have questions about our products or the legal situation, feel free to write to us. We are open about it.

Hanfgeflüster Editorial Team

Our editorial team creates and reviews content on CBD, hemp cosmetics, and herbal ingredients. We value understandable, factually correct information and refer to current legal requirements as well as scientific findings.