Finally, food and beverage manufacturers can use hemp with certainty.

With over 20 years of experience in developing functional ingredients, Applied Food Sciences is now bringing condence to beverage manufacturers looking to include hemp into their formulations. By securing a GRAS determination for their proprietary broad-spectrum hemp extracts, AFS.Hemp is now the rst ingredient of its kind to be recognized as safe for food and beverage applications within the U.S.

The ingredient supplier identies its suite of hemp extracts as "broad-spectrum," which means they contain 0.0% THC but still possess the CBD and other phytocannabinoids, terpenes, and avonoids all found in the original plant. Additionally, Applied Food Sciences produces its ingredients using European hemp varietals sourced from veried EU seed banks. All of AFS.Hemp ingredients are also available as USDA Certied Organic.

'GRAS' is an acronym for Generally Recognized As Safe, and it is a requirement by the FDA. Any ingredient that is intentionally added to food and beverages must be recognized, amongqualied experts, as having been adequately shown to be safe under the conditions of its intended use.

"It is clear that the regulatory pathway for the legal use of CBD and hemp extracts in food and beverages will include the establishment of such ingredients as approved food additives or GRAS," explains Justin Prochnow, Shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Greenberg Traurig is a law rm that is deeply experienced in advising and defending clients in the food and beverage industry. Prochnow notes, "AFS has a long history of supplying quality ingredients with self determined GRAS that set AFS apart from other ingredient suppliers."

All manufacturers of hemp products should be aware that in October of 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its interim nal rules on the regulation of hemp production. The ruling puts pressure on much of the current U.S. hemp supply that is derived from hemp-marijuana hybrid strains that often contain higher amounts of THC than what is permitted.

The most signicant impact on hemp farming is the newly dened sampling procedures, which require law enforcement agencies to collect samples of hemp 15 days prior to harvest. The samples will then be tested by a lab registered with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Should any material have a concentration of THC higher than 0.3%, the new rules stipulate that the entire harvest will have to be destroyed.

Supply chain consistency is at a premium during a time when the demand for CBD is so high. The solution, according to Applied Food Sciences, is sourcing from Europe. The EU has veried seed banks that help guarantee consistent and reliable strains of hemp grown with less than 0.3% THC. AFS has partnered with farms that have experience in growing true industrial hemp for decades as opposed to only a few years. Because of this, AFS can put manufacturers' minds at ease with their AFS.Hemp ingredients.

Applied Food Sciences (AFS) has been in the food and nutrition ingredient industry for over 20 years. AFS understands what it takes to safely add an ingredient in food and beverages as well as nutritional supplements.

Applied Food Sciences manufactures AFS.Hemp in a FSMA-certied production facility which adds legitimacy to manufacturing ingredients for food and beverages. Having an NSF certication assures suppliers, retailers, regulators, and consumers that an independent organization has reviewed the product's manufacturing process and determined that the product complies with specic standards for safety, quality, and sustainability. Finally, AFS completes an analytical validation process for every batch of AFS.Hemp assuring that the levels of THC, CBD, phytocannabinoids, heavy metals, pesticides, and microbial content are accurate in the nished product.

AFS.Hemp comes in three unique delivery systems, all standardized to CBD content. While the cost per serving of active CBD is the same across all three products, each ingredient has advantages for any desired formulation.

Contact AFS To qualify and receive samples of AFS.Hemp ingredients, please visit appliedfoods.com/hemp or call 1-800-345-9666.

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Hemp in good hands for food and beverage companies - Food Dive