What to look for when purchasing CBD products?

We at AnnaFarma are committed to bringing you pharmaceutical grade CBD products with no pesticides, no solvents and no B.S. Our products begin with the highest quality hemp, are extracted using the most sophisticated technology available and are tested more rigorously and accurately than any other CBD product on the market.

But why should you care? You've decided to take CBD products and shouldn't that be enough? The average consumer doesn't want to know the origin of their potato chips and isn't concerned with how well tested their daily multivitamins are. Here are a few reasons you should take a different approach when purchasing CBD products:

  • Hemp | CBD products are extracted from hemp and hemp is a "hyperaccumulator". This means that it absorbs contaminants in the soil, water and air. Hemp is so good at absorption that it is used in bioremediation efforts to clean toxic heavy metals and pollutants from soil. So, it is critical to chose a CBD source that begins with very high-quality hemp to avoid consumption of potentially harmful fertilizers, pesticides and pollutants. 
  • Testing | Many producers and distributors conduct inadequate testing of their CBD products. Some even release test results showing that harmful compounds have been detected. These distributors bank on consumers not digging through lab results to unpack what the claims “lab-tested” or “high purity” really mean. Navigating the landscaping of CBD testing could be challenging, but here are a few key points to keep in mind:
    1. The method of testing should include mass spectrometry.  This is the most accurate and comprehensive technology available for discovering unwanted pesticides, molds and other compounds in CBD products.
    2. Understand the level of detection used in testing.  Mass spectrometry allows one to identify individual compounds in a sample. In contract, other testing methods will have a level of detection set by the testing instrument. In effect, this means that the testing methods used by many of our competitors allow for harmful compounds to be present and to still show "not detected" in the results. 
    3. Look for how many pesticides were tested.  There are currently no pesticides or herbicides approved for use on hemp by state or federal regulators. Additionally, the safety profile of these compounds are usually derived in isolation (i.e., without determining if safe when used with other compounds). As a result, consumers should demand that a vast array of pesticides be tested and none be detected.
  • Extraction | Many companies use cheap methods to extract CBD from hemp - this involves toxic solvents like propane, hexane, pentane and butane. These are compounds that people should not consume, especially if they are ill. You will want to ensure that you only purchase products created through “supercritical CO2 extraction”, which is the current state-of-the-art in CBD extraction methods.  

  • "Full-Spectrum" or Whole-Plant Extract | Many distributors sell CBD isolate, meaning the product contains only CBD, as opposed to "full-spectrum" CBD (which contains all of the cannabanoids, terpenes and flavonoids found in the hemp plant). The general consensus in the scientific community is that full-spectrum CBD has greater healing properties than CBD in its isolated form because of a phenomenon called "entourage effect", where the therapeutic effectiveness of CBD increases when present along with the other constituents of the hemp plant.  

  • Trustworthy | One recent study showed that only 31 percent of CBD products surveyed contained the amount of CBD listed on the label (within +/- 10 percent). It is important to find a supplier who you trust and ideally shares recent potency analyses with you. Additionally, you will want to understand exactly how many milligrams of CBD you are purchasing to accurately compare prices. Some distributors advertise the sale of "20mg hemp capsules" and consumers should not be confused to assume this is the same as purchasing a capsule containing 20mg of CBD, since not all hemp is created equal and even the best hemp plants contain only approximately 25% CBD. 

    • Given these facts, we set out on a mission to find a CBD product that we felt comfortable sharing with our friends and family - a product where they could safely experience the medical and therapeutic benefits of CBD. When we realized it wasn't readily available, we decided to create it and share it with the world.  

    That is why we bring you the AnnaFarma blog - where we will be providing you with regular updates on our products and their continuous testing, the CBD industry and the latest CBD research.  

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