Lancaster Physician Summer 2019 - 23

SUMMER 2019

hen new or trending
nutritional or health supplements, such as hemp-based
cannabidiol (CBD) products, get a lot of media attention, it can be
difficult to figure out what information is
research-based and what is unsubstantiated
claims or marketing hype. As Livia Baublitz,
D.O, shared in her article, "Demystifying
CBD," in Lancaster Physician's spring issue, "As
the cannabis industry booms, many companies
are jumping on the bandwagon to manufacture
CBD products ranging from oils, salves, tinctures, edibles, and vaporizers. These products
have become attractive options for patients and
caregivers seeking an 'alternative' treatment.
However, consumers should consider these
products with careful consideration."
It's critical to never take the advertised benefits of any health supplement at face value,
and it's especially important to buy products
made from brands that follow manufacturing
protocols that ensure the utmost quality, safety,
and consistency.
At Hempfield Botanicals, we encourage
customers to keep the following three criteria
in mind when choosing supplements:

The Essential Three Ts
1. Third-Party Lab Testing
Any company can create slick marketing
slogans and eye-catching ads. Do not take their
claims as bona fide truths. Ask some questions
to learn more about the manufacturer and
how they make their products. For example:
* Do you manufacture your own products
in a licensed facility, or are they a white
label product that you resell as your own?
* Does your website have a specific
third-party lab result document relevant
to the batch I am interested in purchasing?
* Is the raw CBD (or other active ingredient) tested prior to when it's used in
formulating your products?
Some warning signs that you will want
to heed and follow up on before buying a
product include:

* The third-party lab result document contains "blacked-out" areas, covering up the
product name, lab name or date.
* The image of the exact product you are
purchasing is not shown on the third-party
lab result document.
* The date on the third-party lab result
document is outdated.
2. Traceability and Facility Compliance
In the case of CBD products, the unregulated industry is ripe with new brands popping
up all over-some emerging from residential
kitchens, garages, and other places. When
choosing CBD products or other supplements,
check to make sure that the manufacturer's
facility has all the necessary licenses, certifications, and control measures in place to ensure
a safe, pure, and consistently made product.
Some questions to ask to verify that a brand's
facility maintains an ideal manufacturing
environment include:
* Are you able to trace all raw ingredients
that are found in your products to their
point of origination? (Very important in
case of a product recall)
* Is the facility licensed by the state Department of Health?
* Is the facility third-party audited?
* Is the facility certified by the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) for Current
Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP)
or is it Organization for Standardization
(ISO9001) Quality Management System
(QMS) certified? If yes, is the audit certificate available?
* Am I allowed to visit and tour the facility?
3. Transparency of Potency
With regard to CBD, transparency about
the number of CBD milligrams found in a
product is essential. A reputable manufacturer
will clearly display the CBD content on the
product label. With CBD and other supplements, you should be able to find information
about potency easily. When those details

LANCASTER

PHYSICIAN

are not prominent, it's likely the sign of an
inferior product.

Protections Against Misbranding,
Offering Some Peace of Mind

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) has a very specific set of label guidelines
for topical cosmetic, drug, and supplement
products marketed within the United States.
Label display panels must follow strict rules
regarding fonts used, text size, net quantity,
ingredient identification, warning, use, and
more. Topical products' labels must use International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients
(INCI) names. Food, cosmetics, and drugs
that are marketed in the United States, even if
manufactured outside of the U.S, must comply
with the labeling requirements of the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act, the
Fair Packaging and Labeling (FP&L) Act, and
the regulations published by the Food and
Drug Administration under the Authority of
these two laws. If a brand does not follow the
guidelines as set forth by the FDA, a product
will be considered "misbranded" and the
brand may face penalties such as a mandate
to remove the product from the market or
criminal prosecution.

The Importance of Physician and
Consumer Due Diligence

As a registered nurse and Co-Founder of
Hempfield Botanicals, I take my responsibility to teach people about what to look for in
CBD products seriously. That emphasis on
the importance of buying from a brand that
adheres to the highest standards of quality
and purity extends to other types of health
supplements, as well. Before consumers
incorporate any supplement into their daily
routine and before physicians recommend
health products to patients, due diligence is
a must. Do some research to identify brands
that provide research-based education (not just
marketing fluff) about their products' benefits
and applications.

Lancaster Physician Summer 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Lancaster Physician Summer 2019