Hemp seed and hulled hemp seed have an established history of food use in the Union and are traded as conventional foods. Three questions still need answering before a first shipment, and the answers differ by product form and by destination.
Tetrahydrocannabinol. Hemp seed itself contains negligible cannabinoid content; contamination arises from contact with flower and leaf material during harvest and handling. Maximum levels for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in hemp seed and derived products sit in the Union contaminants framework consolidated in Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915. Consult the consolidated text in force at the date of shipment; the figures are not restated here. The practical control is cleaning discipline at the processor, and a certificate of analysis on the traded lot rather than on the crop.
Variety and cultivation. Industrial hemp cultivation in the Union is subject to variety restrictions under the agricultural policy framework, and third-country material is expected to be equivalent. Ask which variety the crop came from and whether the grower is registered.
Product form. This is where the position changes. Whole and hulled seed, hemp seed oil and hemp protein derived from seed are treated as conventional foods. Cannabinoid extracts, isolates and preparations are a different matter and fall to be assessed under Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 on novel foods. Selling a seed product and selling an extract are not the same regulatory exercise.
National variation. Member States have taken differing positions on hemp-derived products, and enforcement practice is not uniform. Confirm the current position for each destination market rather than assuming a single Union answer.
Labelling under Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 applies as it does to any food, and health or functional claims are a separate regime again. Vorezan describes the framework; the compliance position for a specific consignment is a matter for the importer and their advisers.