Watchdog supports hemp products

CANBERRA - The food watchdog that governs what can appear on supermarket shelves on both sides of the Tasman is making its second bid to convince politicians that hemp should be allowed in our diets.

Certain that industrial hemp is harmless - and in fact has a raft of valuable ingredients beneficial to human health - Food Standards Australia New Zealand has released a consultation paper putting the case for the cannabis species.

Its first attempt to allow hemp foods failed nine years ago when ministers from both countries axed the proposal for fear of damaging anti-drug policies and enforcement by encouraging popular acceptance of marijuana by association.

The only exception is a New Zealand food safety regulation allowing the sale of hempseed oil as a food.

Unlike illicit cannabis, industrial hemp contains only minute amounts of THC, the ingredient that gets dope-smokers high. Illegal pot contains levels of THC of up to 3 to 15 per cent, while hemp has less than 0.5 per cent and does not have any psychoactive properties.

"FSANZ has not identified any public health and safety concerns associated with consuming hemp foods," the organisation's consultation paper says.

It is supporting an application by former Sydney doctor Andrew Katelaris, a long-time industrial hemp researcher and cannabis legalisation activist, deregistered in 2005 for supplying patients with marijuana and conducting unauthorised trials of its medicinal use.

He admitted to the New South Wales Medical Tribunal Tribunal that for two years he had supplied cannabis to about a dozen people - many disabled or ill, some terminally - to control their symptoms.

Katelaris was also placed on a three-year good behaviour bond for growing cannabis.

Hemp is legally grown under licence in Australia and New Zealand for products including clothing and fibre, building products, cosmetics, paper and animal feed. But it has also historically been used for its oil, and for medicines.

FSANZ says that hempseeds are rich in the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6, which are required for vital body functions including the immune response, lipid hydrolysis, blood clotting, vascular dilation and cardiac function.

They also play a vital role in maintaining cell membrane structure, and contain thiamin, vitamin E, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc. "Like other nuts and seeds, hempseed and hempseed oil are a good alternative source of a number of nutrients," the consultation papers says. And hemp is widely produced as food around the world, used in products such as health bars, salad oils, non-soy tofu, non-dairy cheeses, and as an additive to baked goods.

It is on sale in the European Union, Switzerland, Canada and the United States, where a court recently found that THC from industrial hemp is distinct from marijuana and therefore not a controlled substance.

But FSANZ says public consultation is needed in Australia because of a range of other issues, including potential risks of high-THC foods sneaking into the food supply, false claims of psychoactive properties to boost sales, and consumption of hemp foods resulting in positive drug test results.

Even so, the consultation paper says a full safety assessment had found no public health and safety concerns with food products containing derivatives of hemp - nor had there been any new studies to suggest otherwise. "FSANZ is satisfied that the conclusions of the safety assessment conducted for [its rejected 2002 approval] remain valid, and that low-THC hemp foods are safe for consumption," the paper says.