Ben & Jerry’s are ready to get into the latest food trend: cannabidiol, aka CBD.
In a statement released last May 30th, Ben & Jerry’s announced that they are open to bringing CBD-infused ice cream to the market as soon as it’s legalized at the federal level.
While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently prohibits the addition of CBD to food and beverages, change is about to happen. On May 31st, the FDA held a public hearing on the legalization of CBD-infused food and beverages, and Ben & Jerry’s forwarded a comment to the agency in support of legalization.
“We’re doing this for our fans,” said Ben & Jerry’s CEO Matthew McCarthy of why they are campaigning for the legalization of CBD-infused food and beverages. “We’ve listened and brought them everything from non-dairy indulgences to on-the-go portions with our Pint Slices. We aspire to love our fans more than they love us and we want to give them what they’re looking for in a Ben & Jerry’s way.”
According to a recent survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association, three in four chefs named CBD – and cannabis-infused food as a hot trend in 2019. While it’s unclear when exactly CBD-infused food and beverages will be legalized, Ben & Jerry’s has already guaranteed its consumers that all the ingredients for its potential CBD-infused ice cream will be sustainably-sourced.
“We want to use sustainably-sourced CBD from our home state of Vermont,” said the company, which also makes frozen yogurt and sorbet. “After all, values-led sourcing is an important part of our process when we churn up new ice cream innovations. By using high-quality, sustainably-sourced ingredients, we support our linked prosperity model, ensuring that everyone involved with making our flavors — from the cocoa farmers to the Scoop Shop scoopers — is positively impacted.”
Ben & Jerry’s ended its statement encouraging its consumers to express their support on the legalization of CBD-infused food and beverages by sending a comment to the FDA until July 2nd.