CBD , products are appearing everywhere in many different forms, such as bath bombs, lotions, vape pens, gummies, capsules, tinctures, and even dog treats. But where do these products come from? How are they manufactured? And how do you recognize that you’re buying a safe and effective product? Let’s look at the manufacturing process of these products:
Hemp Farm
The manufacturing process for CBD products begins on a hemp farm, although CBD is a compound that comes from both hemp and marijuana. Since hemp is the source of cannabis that is legal, most of the products contain hemp-derived CBD.
Preferably, farmers will analyze the soil before hemp is planted.
Then, they will use low-THC genetics seeds to plant their hemp.
Farmers should ideally use organic growing methods, such as adding natural predators to pests and never using toxic chemicals during cultivation.
Gratefully, hemp is a crop that requires relatively low maintenance.
Keeping the THC level below 0.3% in dry weight is the biggest challenge that farmers experience.
If the amount of THC is more than a certain limit—a percentage specified by the state in which hemp is cultivated— the crop must be destroyed, and farmers could encounter substantial fines.
After the harvest of hemp, the crop is sold and taken by the manufacturers to their extraction units.
Extraction
CBD and other compounds are extracted from the hemp in the form of oil during the extraction process.
Typically, hemp oil can be extracted by using two methods: ethanol and CO2.
Ethanol extraction is the most widely used method for hemp oil extraction.
It’s less complicated and quicker than CO2 extraction, but ethanol is also more dangerous due to its flammability.
The oil must have to be filtered to eliminate the ethanol.
CO2 extraction is considered the safest and most effective method for the extraction of hemp oil; however, it is also complicated and costly.
One factor for the preference of CO2 over the ethanol extraction is that oil obtained from CO2 extraction does not require to be purified.
Refining The Oil
After being extracted from the hemp plant, hemp oil will undergo two processes known as winterization and decarboxylation.
In the process of winterization, oil is cooled down at extremely low temperature to separate natural fats and waxes from the hemp extract.
Then in the process of decarboxylation, oil is heated to transform the inactive CBDA compound into active CBD compound.
If the target is a full-spectrum hemp product, the process will end here.
However, if the aim is to produce CBD isolate, the distillation of the oil is performed to isolate the CBD from other cannabinoids.
Third-Party Testing
This pure oil obtained by using the above processes will then be used by the companies to manufacture their products.
The renowned brands will send a sample to a third-party laboratory from each batch of their products.
All well-known third-party labs should carry an ISO-17025 certification, ideally with additional certifications and licenses.
Brands should get the services to test the cannabinoid concentration, presence of solvents like ethanol, heavy metals, microbes, and pesticides.
Good companies will post the results of the laboratory test directly on their website.
Sale
After testing, the products are available for you to buy.
Having Knowledge about the manufacturing process of CBD products will help you to find out the brand you should trust.
Every CBD company should be readily available to tell you about the manufacturing process of their product. If any company is not providing such information, it’s time to find a new brand for your desired products.
What’s the most important factor to you when looking for CBD products to buy? Let us know in the comments below!
