In this podcast at SupplySide West, representatives of BI Nutraceuticals explore farming, extraction, dosing, regulation and other aspects of the hemp-derived CBD market.

Josh Long, Associate editorial director, Natural Products Insider

November 4, 2019

1 Min Read
Sourcing quality CBD remains challenge—podcast

At the recent SupplySide West 2019 in Las Vegas, representatives of BI Nutraceuticals discussed the ingredient on everyone’s mind in the natural products industry: CBD. BI Nutraceuticals’ CEO, George Pontiakos, and its director of extract manufacturing, Michael Wagner, Ph.D., sat down for a podcast interview with Josh Long, legal and regulatory editor of Natural Products INSIDER. In the podcast, Pontiakos and Wagner discussed:

  • Challenges sourcing quality CBD products

    • Few companies, Pontiakos said, “have all the controls in place to ensure that what you’re providing to the consumer is correct, safe and efficacious.”

  • Safety concerns related to farming practices and extraction

    • Said Pontiakos: “A vast majority of hemp growers are brand new to the industry. Many of them never grew a tomato in their back yard let alone had a commercial farming operation.”

    • Commenting on extraction, Wagner said companies may lack the technical expertise to eliminate residual solvents from their extracts. “That’s a serious concern that we see in other extracts. It applies exactly to this and when you have inexperienced people doing it, you run that risk.”

  • The potential for adverse reactions from the combination of CBD products and prescription drugs

  • Whether FDA should establish a dosing limitation for CBD in dietary supplements

  • The eventual maturation of the market

    • “Those that are in it today,” Pontiakos said, “may not be there tomorrow when the bigger players decide to come in.”

Got feedback? Email Josh Long at [email protected]

 

 

 

About the Author(s)

Josh Long

Associate editorial director, Natural Products Insider, Informa Markets Health and Nutrition

Josh Long directs the online news, feature and op-ed coverage at Natural Products Insider, which targets the health and wellness industry. He has been reporting on developments in the dietary supplement industry for over a decade, with a focus on regulatory issues, including at the Food and Drug Administration.

He has moderated and/or presented at industry trade shows, including SupplySide East, SupplySide West, Natural Products Expo West, NBJ Summit and the annual Dietary Supplement Regulatory Summit.

Connect with Josh on LinkedIn and ping him with story ideas at [email protected]

Education and previous experience

Josh majored in journalism and graduated from Arizona State University the same year "Jake the Snake" Plummer led the Sun Devils to the Rose Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes. He also holds a J.D. from the University of Wyoming College of Law, was admitted in 2008 to practice law in the state of Colorado and spent a year clerking for a state district court judge.

Over more than a quarter century, he’s written on various topics for newspapers and business-to-business publications – from the Yavapai in Arizona and a controversial plan for a nuclear-waste incinerator in Idaho to nuanced issues, including FDA enforcement of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA).

Since the late 1990s, his articles have been published in a variety of media, including but not limited to, the Cape Cod Times (in Massachusetts), Sedona Red Rock News (in Arizona), Denver Post (in Colorado), Casper Star-Tribune (in Wyoming), now-defunct Jackson Hole Guide (in Wyoming), Colorado Lawyer (published by the Colorado Bar Association) and Nutrition Business Journal.

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