A concern with the rising popularity of CBD is that as much as 70% of all hemp products, including hemp-derived CBD oils, sold in America have been imported from foreign sources, including China, Romania and India. This should be a concern for any consumer taking CBD oil or researching CBD oil. A lot of companies displaying the American flag on their website and products, claiming to be “made in the USA”, are importing low-quality, contaminated products from abroad at a few dollars a bottle and simply adding their branded label. Farmers abroad are known to use hemp plants to draw out contaminants such as lead and arsenic from the soil to purify their land in preparation for planting food crops. The problem is that after purifying their land, they take the same hemp plants and extract the oil from it, which essentially concentrates the contaminants. They then import the hemp oil to the USA for sale. This is a scary fact and consumers should understand that the potential of coming across one of these unethical companies is very likely as the CBD market continues to grow. C4 Healthlabs CBD oil is 100% organic, grown in the USA and thoroughly tested for purity and potency. We would not have it any other way. We put our reputation on our quality and having the highest ethics in the industry. Since our inception, we have received more than 750 reviews from our loyal customers, with over 90% of those reviews earning a five-star rating. We are so very proud of the feedback we have received from our customers regarding our company, our products, and the stellar customer service we provide.
In 2019, two announcements were made by the FDA concerning CBD and cannabis-related products. Links to these statements can be found below. The first announcement was two-fold. First, it identified CBD oil companies who were making medical claims in their advertising and packaging, as well as falsely labeling CBD products as a dietary supplement. Second, it identified CBD oil companies whose products contained CBD concentrations that were below their label claim, or where CBD was non-existent, after product testing. The FDA identified fifteen (15) such companies for their violations (listed in the announcement) and issued warning letters to them. Some of these companies also tested positive for high levels of dangerous chemicals (toxins, pesticides, heavy metals, etc.) that could be a result of contaminated farms or inadequate processing practices. Several of these companies are well-known and have shipped hundreds, if not thousands, of CBD products in recent years. In short, the first FDA announcement does not pertain to products from C4 Healthlabs.
We founded C4 Healthlabs in response to the misinformation and deception that other unscrupulous companies are using to sell inferior and/or dangerous products. On our website, you will find that we do not make health claims or label our CBD products as dietary supplements. From a production standpoint, we source our hemp from a Tennessee cultivator of Italian fiber hemp plant — a farm that has been a 100% organic farm from the start and will soon be one of the very few USDA-certified organic hemp farms in the country.
Before beginning production, we tested the farm’s soil, vetted the production process and tested the final product using a third-party lab for a certificate of analysis (COA). Unlike some companies who only test a few batches a year, we test every single batch of our product using a third-party lab that provides us with a certificate of analysis (COA), and our products consistently test for CBD concentrations true to our product labeling and never contain contaminants like toxins, pesticides or heavy metals. If you are considering CBD oil, we strongly encourage you to do your research, which should always include a recent lab report performed by a third-party lab.
The second announcement from the FDA is a warning of possible side effects when taking CBD oil. The side effects mentioned are liver damage, drug interactions, and male reproductive toxicity. While the FDA announcement opens [and closes] with an umbrella warning that includes all CBD products, the meat of the announcement, and the data used by the FDA to form its conclusions, comes “As part of the drug review and approval process for the prescription drug containing CBD.” This prescription drug is called Epidiolex and is “the first FDA-approved drug that contains a purified drug substance derived from marijuana” for the treatment of seizures associated with two rare and severe forms of epilepsy. As for full-spectrum hemp-derived CBD oil, the FDA has no long-term data as of the time the article was written. The consensus from many scientific studies and health professionals is that a high quality, pure CBD oil may aid in many health conditions due to its anti-inflammatory properties, but in the announcement, the FDA also restates that any CBD oil company making health claims are in violation of the FDA’s Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).
We at C4 Healthlabs — verbally, online and in print materials — always recommend that consumers first consult with their physician to ensure CBD oil is a good fit for them and/or to rule out any possible drug interactions. We also do not claim to prevent, diagnose, treat, mitigate, or cure serious diseases or illnesses. C4 Healthlabs was founded to inform consumers of how CBD works and share how our company has taken every step to ensure safety.
Our team has years of experience in healthcare and customer service as well as a genuine care for our customers. While the extra steps we take to purify our products and the constant testing we perform on every batch is costly, we feel that every consumer deserves to know exactly what they are purchasing. It is very important for the consumer to know what they are consuming, especially in an unregulated market where consumers can purchase “CBD Oil” from a corner gas station without any knowledge of what’s in the bottle. C4 Healthlabs truly cares about you and wants you to experience a pure product that has been ethically produced from start to finish, and from a company that is owned and operated by ethical people who have your best interest at heart.
Sources:
Warning Letters and Test Results for Cannabidiol-Related Products
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health-focus/warning-letters-and-test-results-cannabidiol-related-products
FDA “What You Need to Know About Products Containing Cannabis or Cannabis-derived Compounds, Including CBD
https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/what-you-need-know-and-what-were-working-find-out-about-products-containing-cannabis-or-cannabis
