Industrial hemp seed: from the field to value-added food ingredients

Table 1 Maximum permissible THC contents in different hemp food products in Australia/New Zealand, the European Union and the USA

Hemp product	Australia/New Zealand^a	European Union^b	USA^c
Industrial hemp plant	0.35% or 1% dw	0.2% dw	0.3% dw
Hulled hemp seed	5 mg/kg	3 mg/kg	4 mg/kg
Hemp seed oil	10 mg/kg	7.5 mg/kg	10 mg/kg
Hemp flour and hemp protein powder	10 mg/kg	3 mg/kg	Not specified
Hemp seed milk or other beverages	0.2 mg/kg	Not specified	Not specified
Milled hemp seed as ingredients	5 mg/kg	3 mg/kg	Not specified

^aFood Standards Australia and New Zealand specify limits for Cannabis sativa seeds as food and ingredients in foods. FSANZ state that industrial hemp for food is limited at 1% THC in leaves and flowering heads, though some states have set lower limits of 0.35%. Australia also specifies that hemp seed products must contain no more than 75 mg/kg of CBD
^bThe European Commission amended Regulation (EC) No. 1881/2006 to set maximum limits for hemp foods in Europe, though each state is free to set their own limits equal to or below these limits. The amended regulation takes effect 1 January 2023
^cThe US Food and Drug Administration has not set formal limits for THC in hemp-based foods. Though the “Generally Recognised as Safe” classification from the FDA specifies contaminant limits including THC which are presented

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