CBD-infused snacks could soon join the product line that includes Chips Ahoy cookies, Cadbury chocolate, and Nutter Butter cookies.
Mondelez, the company that makes Oreo cookies, is reportedly considering adding the cannabis compound CBD to some of its cookies and snacks. CBD stands for cannabidiol, and it’s a calming/anti inflammatory component of (some but not all) marijuana plants. It doesn’t get you high.
“Yes, we’re getting ready, but we obviously want to stay within what is legal and play it the right way,” CEO Dirk Van de Put told CNBC on Wednesday:
Although he dashed hopes that consumers would get CBD-infused Oreos, saying that the non-psychoactive compound in cannabis might not be a fit for the company’s family brands, the company could add the ingredient to other products or even create new product lines.
A number of start-ups have already started selling CBD-infused food and drinks, but larger companies such as Mondelez and Coca-Cola are still sitting on the sidelines while federal health officials weigh new rules regulating the industry. Van de Put predicted the ingredient will hit the mainstream food market in the “not-so-far future.”
In December, President Donald Trump legalized most products containing CBD when he signed the farm bill into law. Since then, retailers such as Walgreens and CVS have started selling a limited number of CBD products such as lotions and creams. However, the Food and Drug Administration prohibits adding the compound to food or beverages. In response to pressure from Congress, the regulator has set its first date for public hearings on the matter for next month.
“The space is not clear,” Van de Put said. “It’s a bit clearer in non-food products. In food products, I’m hoping that the FDA will bring some clarity in the coming months.”
