Low level THC hemp seeds approved for sale as food

THC is the chemical compound found in cannabis that causes a euphoric high in humans - but the consumption of hemp seeds with a low level of THC doesn’t cause the same impact.

Last week, the Australian and NZ ministers responsible for food safety regulations met in Adelaide where the long-running issue was debated.

A statement from the meeting said the ministers received a report by the Swinburne University of Technology regarding the consumption of low THC foods and the effect on random drug testing protocols in Australia and NZ.

Ministers noted the key finding of the Consumption Report is that it is highly unlikely that consumption of food products containing the levels of THC tested would result in any positive tests on oral fluid, blood or urine, the statement said.

“In light of these findings ministers supported the draft standard that will allow low THC hemp seeds to be sold as a food,” it said.

“The standard will take effect six months after it has been gazetted and ministers acknowledged that there is still a range of NZ and state and territory legislation that currently prohibits the sale of low THC hemp seeds as a food which will need to be amended.

“Ministers also supported the establishment of an Implementation and Monitoring working group.”

Assistant Health Minister and NSW Nationals MP Dr David Gillespie said after an extensive body of research and evaluation, low THC hemp seeds had received approval to go forward into the Food Standards Code as a “food stuff”.

Dr Gillespie said the research documented, in a scientific trial, that low THC hemp seeds would be “virtually impossible” to be the cause of a positive drug test.

He said as such, other relevant ministers, including police, security, agriculture and all the other bodies “feel that it’s a reasonable thing to include in the food profile of Australia”.

“That will be going forward to each state’s various legislative processes and gazetted,” he said.

“The body of evidence assembled by the university analysis is reassuring that road side testing and drug testing wouldn’t be forcibly positive, by virtue of ingesting low THC seeds.

“In themselves they have a lot of good oils – Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils – so we can see it will give certainty to the industrial low THC industry that they have another product for sale.”

Dr Gillespie said low THC hemp seeds were already available for sale in many supermarkets but the product was labelled ‘not suitable for human consumption’.

But he said that label will now be removed, following last week’s ministerial forum decision, and each state would need to pass individual legislation to go forward.

“This issue has been running for many years and the outstanding issue was whether the ingestion of these seeds could be used as an excuse to get off drug charges,” he said.

“The policing authorities in the various states and at the federal police level wanted to be reassured that if people were tested they wouldn’t get a false positive and have an excuse to get off charges and that has been demonstrated by the study.

“The study will be peer reviewed and in literature in due course.

“But the board has agreed to give Swinburne University the ability to publish the study and with my scientific background, and 33 years of being a medical practitioner where your life is full of looking at trials and whether they’re valid, they (Swinburne) seem to have done a very reasonable and extensive evaluation.”

Dr Gillespie said the Australian market for hemp seeds wasn’t “huge” and the approved product wouldn’t be produced by broadacre irrigation cropping but “there will be a place for it”.

“It will be a value added product for people in the low THC industrial hemp space which will make another income stream for existing producers which is always good,” he said.

“We do like to help our primary producers of legal substances and I think it’ll be a boon to those people in that space already.

“But considering the volume in the seeds, I can’t see it being a huge broadacre irrigation type cultivation” it’ll be more of a niche market.”

Kerri-Ann Garraway – the General Manager of Kanga Health Food which sells its food brand Seed Sister in health food stores and some supermarkets throughout WA - said the decision to approve low THC hemp seeds as a safe food product last week “made sense” given the potential benefits for health-conscious consumers.

“It's good that the relevant food safety authorities and ministers have looked at the scientific research to prove low THC hemp seed is safe to use as a food item,” she said.

“Hemp seeds contain nutritional value so this is good news and I'd love to include hemp seeds in my seed mix.”

NSW Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair said the decision was “exciting news” for the existing hemp industry which would now continue to thrive, producing a healthy and sustainable product for consumers.

Mr Blair said low THC hemp was legally already grown in NSW under strict licensing conditions and was a “hardy and sustainable” crop that had enormous potential for both domestic and export markets.

He said it was already sold legally in more than 21 developed countries including the USA, Canada and the UK.

“It is now time for Australians to reap the benefits,” he said.

“In the US alone, the Hemp Industries Association estimates the value of hemp based foods, supplements and body care sales to be between US$150-170 million per annum.

“Australian hemp growers are also developing drought resistant varieties for the domestic and international markets, to help improve its viability as a crop.”

The Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA) welcomed the health minister’s decision on low THC hemp saying it endorsed the recent Food Standards Australia New Zealand recommendation and would now bring the industry into line with other countries in the world.

TFGA CEO Peter Skillern said, “This decision will inevitably lead to an expansion of the industry in the State and provide more jobs for regional Tasmania in the process”.

Dr Gillespie said the hierarchy of priorities for the food safety regulatory system was food safety and the approved product “is safe”.

“Low THC seeds do have a lot of good nutrient oils that would be beneficial if they were included,” he said.

“There are also always alternatives for those sorts of oils but by themselves the seeds, particularly de-hulled seeds, have a lot of nutritional benefit and have been analysed to be safe.”