EIHA PRESENTATION ON HEMP EXTRACT

BY: Lorenza Romanese
EIHA Managing Director
Daniel Kruse, Board Member
Tony Reeves, Advisory Committee
12 March 2019, WG PAFF Committee

Who is EIHA and who do they represent:

• Originally formed almost 19 years ago; officially founded in 2005.
Based in Brussels and Cologne
• The only pan-European consortium in the industrial hemp sector
• Membership encompasses 25 EU states and 12 additional countries
including members in North America and APAC; total membership
200, primarily farmers, processors and manufacturers.
• Policies: CAP reform, Hemp extracts/NF regulation, THC limits in feed
and food, Life Cycle Assessment of hemp materials, CO2 impacts,
environment concerns, cosmetics

Evolution of consumers life-style

• Before using so called medicines as we know it, humans balanced
their health with natural foods (vegetables):
à plants (leaves and flowers), seeds, fruits, grains and nuts
• After so many decades of highly processed food, consumers are
increasingly attracted by what is “natural”
• Consumers trends: physical activity, balanced and healthy diet
enhanced with functional food, non-allergic ingredients and food
supplements à Healthy life-style model
• To maintain “homeostasis” in challenging modern conditions
consumers seek out food supplements of botanical origin

EU Institution approach to this shift in consumers’ behaviour

• 2008 Council of Europe: one of our society’s main characteristic is
people’s growing desire to improve one’s health condition, reduce
the risk of disease and try to find the best possible quality of life
à education’s improvement/increased general knowledge and awareness
• Homeostasis: status of a person whose physiological parameters
function within the limits considered normal – optimal balance
• Food supplements’ aim: support, maintain or optimize the normal
physiological condition = balance (homeostasis)
• Medicines’ aim: bring back physiological functions from critical
condition into normality (homeostasis)

What are hemp extracts? (focus on Cannabidiol)

• Definition of hemp extracts: from latin “extrahere” = draw out,
remove) means any method that uses a (solid, liquid or gaseous)
extraction agent to remove one or several components from a
substance mixture (of solid, liquid or gaseous substances)
• Coffee à Coffee extract / tea à tea extract
• Cannabidiol (CBD) is the most abundant cannabinoid naturally
presents in the industrial hemp plant and their extracts
• Non psychotropic, non-intoxicating, not addictive, very well tolerated by
humans even in large doses
• Hemp extracts are used in food/supplements for their health
maintaining properties

How hemp extracts are made from hemp plant?

1. Cold pressing: the most simple extract from hemp fruiting tops is hempseed oil
2. Ethanol extraction: using alcohol to whole fruiting tops (infructescence) and leaves
3. CO2 extraction: using Carbon Dioxide to whole fruiting tops (infructescences) and leaves
4. Fat extraction: can easily be used for home-made preparations
   • Moreover… • Extract can be left raw or decarboxylated and added to consumer products without
   further processing
   • Extracts are usually winterised in order to remove plant waxes
   • Extract can be further distilled/rectified in order to remove unwanted elements such
   as chlorophyll

Thanks to the EIHA for all their professional advise and information: http://eiha.org/document/eiha-presentation-on-hemp-extracts/