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CBD regulation in the UK has moved repeatedly, and it is still moving. Everything below reflects the position as we understand it in July 2026. Before you make any commercial decision, check the FSA's current guidance and public list directly — a status that is true today can change with a single authorisation decision. Treat this as orientation, not legal advice, and take specialist advice for your specific products.
CBD is a novel food
Ingestible CBD products — oils, drinks, gummies, capsules — are regulated as novel foods in Great Britain, meaning they were not widely consumed before May 1997 and so need pre-market safety authorisation. In practice that means a CBD food product cannot simply be put on sale; it needs to be part of the authorisation process the FSA runs.
The transitional public list
The market is still in a transitional phase. The FSA maintains a public list of CBD products that are linked to a credible, progressing safety application and are permitted to remain on sale while that process continues. Two consequences follow, and both matter commercially:
- As of July 2026, no CBD extract or isolate has full novel-food authorisation — the whole market trades on the transitional list, not on completed approvals.
- A product that is not on the public list should not be on sale, and retailers are expected to remove it. Being on the list is effectively the price of entry.
The controlled-drug line
Separate from food law, CBD sits next to the Misuse of Drugs regime. Cannabinoids such as THC are controlled substances, so a CBD product must not tip over into controlled-drug territory. The practical test used is the "exempt product" definition — broadly, no single component part of the product may contain more than 1mg of a controlled substance. This is a different and stricter question than the food rules, and it is where products most often fall foul of the law without realising it.
FSA consumer advice and claims
The FSA advises healthy adults to take no more than 10mg of CBD a day (and separately flags a tolerable THC intake in the region of 70µg a day), and advises that CBD is not for under-18s, or for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding or taking medication. Product labelling and marketing should reflect that advice. And as with any food, you cannot make medicinal claims — a CBD product presented as treating or curing a condition risks being classified as an unlicensed medicine by the MHRA.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to sell CBD in the UK?
Ingestible CBD can be sold in Great Britain, but only within tight rules. It is regulated as a novel food, so a product generally needs to be on the FSA's transitional public list (linked to a credible safety application) to remain on sale, and it must stay within controlled-drug limits on THC. This is a fast-moving area — check the current FSA position before relying on it, and take specialist advice.
Do CBD products need FSA approval?
Ingestible CBD is a novel food and needs FSA authorisation. As of July 2026 the market is transitional: products trade against the FSA's public list rather than completed authorisations, and no CBD extract or isolate has full authorisation yet. A product not on the public list should not be on sale.
How much CBD and THC is allowed?
The FSA advises healthy adults to take no more than 10mg of CBD per day, and flags a tolerable THC intake around 70µg per day. Separately, under controlled-drug law the widely used test is that no single component part of a product should contain more than 1mg of a controlled substance such as THC. These limits change, so verify the current figures before relying on them.
Can you make health claims about CBD?
No. Like any food, CBD cannot be marketed as treating, preventing or curing a condition. A medicinal presentation risks the product being classified as an unlicensed medicine by the MHRA, which is a separate and much stricter regime than food law.