Feb 4, 2020   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Hemp Depot Receives One of the First GMP Certifications for Manufacturing and Storing CBD

Hemp Depot, one of the largest wholesale providers of the highest-quality hemp CBD oil products, seed, and clones in the U.S., today announces it is one of the first companies to receive the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) certifications for manufacturing and storing CBD and CBD products.

Enforceable under the umbrella of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the GMP and cGMP certifications require that manufacturers, processors, and packagers take stringent and proactive steps to ensure that their products are safe, pure, and effective. cGMP certification ensures technologies and systems are up-to-date to comply with the regulation and that the correct systems and equipment are in place to prevent contamination and errors that affect consumers.

Following a rigorous 18-month process of reviews, inspections and upgrades specified by federal guidelines, Hemp Depot was cGMP certified in January 2020 by NSF International, including both manufacturing and storage, thereby covering all raw materials, manufacturing, and finished CBD products. The cGMP processes for CBD and all cannabis products are outlined in the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Very few companies in the cannabis, hemp, and CBD industries have achieved the level of manufacturing precision and sophistication required to gain the certification.

Hemp Depot’s state-of-the-art facility and technologies were certified to be 100 percent compliant with regulation. The proper manufacturing and storing of CBD products is crucial to producing high-quality CBD and to protect consumer health.

“The Cannabinoid industry is widely unregulated when it comes to food safety and quality assurance. Becoming GMP Certified proves to your consumers that you are committed to the highest level of quality and prioritize maintaining the highest quality practices to protect them. GMP Certification is a critical distinction CBD brands need to have in place to prove they maintain the highest level of health and sanitation standards making your company’s products safer than those made without certification,” said Kimberly Stuck, CEO of Allay Consulting, LLC, an industry leader in CBD safety, regulation and compliance.

“FDA regulations for this industry will eventually be in place and GMP Certification is a good way to ensure you are ready for that level of regulation. Many companies will not be ready and when regulation kicks in, those companies will suffer the consequences of not being proactive, “ she said.

"Several CBD companies falsify GMP certification through a third-party audit company, which is not equivalent to GMP certification," said Andy Rodosevich, CEO and co-founder of Hemp Depot. "Many CBD companies also claim to have GMP certification when they manufacture from a facility that was previously certified, however, their specific manufacturing process for CBD has never been certified, and that operation does not qualify as GMP certified. The GMP CBD certification process has only been available online for the last 45 days and Hemp Depot is among the first of only a handful of CBD firms to be awarded certification."

Hemp Depot’s certification gives it a significant competitive advantage over companies mired in a tangled supply chain of manufacturers and distributors producing CBD products that cannot be guaranteed safe from seed to shelf. For instance, if a company purchases a seed or plant from another grower or wholesaler, the company selling the end product cannot guarantee that the entire manufacturing process was compliant and pure because the see was not GMP compliant, posing a possible risk to consumers. Growers and others in the supply chain that originates with Hemp Depot seed do not face that risk because they use seed produced in a facility and process certified to GMP standards.

Stuck added, “We are so proud of Hemp Depot for their accomplishment. It took time, dedication, and a lot of hard work to get the GMP Certification. Hemp Depot is now a GMP Certified facility with the capacity to be a leader in CBD industry and they truly deserve to be recognized. Allay Consulting was happy to assist Hemp Depot along the path of GMP compliance.”

About Hemp Depot

Hemp Depot provides the highest-quality hemp CBD oil, hemp seeds, and hemp clones in the U.S. Hemp Depot cannabinoid products deliver the highest degrees of purity and strength in the consumer and wholesale CBD market, with all products grown, formulated and processed in Hemp Depot’s facilities in Colorado. As one of the first cannabis industry companies awarded Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Certification in compliance with FDA enforceable standards and one of the first 13 producers to be certified by the U.S. Hemp Authority, Hemp Depot is one of the nation’s largest and most trusted hemp brands specializing in seed genetics, planting, harvesting, formulating, wholesaling, and retailing cannabis for CBD for humans and pets under a variety of best-selling labels as well as white labels. With a commitment to safety and purity guaranteed through third party testing, Hemp Depot offers a complete range of full-spectrum and 100% THC-free products at the best value. Passionate about clean, sustainable agriculture, water conservation and growing non-GMO, all-natural crops, Hemp Depot seeds generate the highest-value yield per acre and the highest-value for CBD per plant, while also maintaining the highest hemp seed inventory in the U.S. Visit www.hempdepotco.com for orders and more details.