The FSA updated its CBD guidance in October 2023, reducing the recommended daily intake from 70mg to 10mg for healthy adults. This conservative figure is based on limited available data and has been widely debated within the CBD industry. Most CBD brands continue to recommend higher doses, and the FSA themselves note that the 10mg figure includes a large safety margin.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) regulates CBD in the UK. They have previously recommended no more than 70mg CBD per day, but this was updated to 10mg CBD per day in October 2023.
Setting the context
The FSA updated guidance of a 10mg Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for CBD, down from the 70mg, has caused a lot of debate in the CBD world. This article explains how the FSA got to that number, and how it compares with other countries.
Though we strive for a balanced perspective, this article is an opinion piece and should not be taken as advice.
There's no change in the legal status of our products and regulators are not advising on any de-listings or product recalls. We take quality and safety very seriously. Our products are clearly labelled so you know exactly how much you are taking. We recommend familiarising yourself with the FSA advice and industry response as this topic is likely to evolve over time.
Note: the numbers in brackets refer to references listed in the "Further Reading" section at the end of the article.
Understanding the FSA guidance is provisional
The current FSA guidance for CBD, derived from 3 90-day studies, is explicitly labelled as "provisional" and there are no changes to the products that are allowed on sale. The FSA guidance does suggest that additional data might be best provided by "post-marketing surveillance." Post-market surveillance is the monitoring of drugs once they reach the market. The FSA suggests in its paper that data from additional studies and post-marketing surveillance "could help in reducing uncertainty and as such, the uncertainty factors and provisional Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) would be revised accordingly if new data supported such a change." (1). For more details on the FSA guidance, you can refer to this joint position paper (1).
The 300-fold uncertainty factor
The key to the FSA's figure is a 300-fold uncertainty factor. With better data, it could come down, which would raise the recommended limit.
It starts with a standard 100-fold rule. This rule serves as a safety buffer, frequently employed in toxicology and risk assessments. Its main function is to account for potential inconsistencies and unknown factors, especially when using animal study results to predict human outcomes. Put simply, when a study identifies a dose with no adverse effects, that dose is divided by 100 to determine a safe level for human consumption. The United States National Library of Medicine offers a detailed overview of this concept (2).
For CBD, the FSA guidance uses an additional uncertainty factor of 3 to address data gaps and uncertainties not covered in the initial studies. By multiplying the standard 100-fold rule with this factor, we get the 300-fold uncertainty factor that underpins the 10mg ADI recommendation.
These buffers are there to protect consumers, but they can also make the final figure very cautious.
Here's how that works in practice. The FSA relied on 3 rat studies. In one of them, the highest dose with no adverse effects was 72mg per kg of body weight a day. Divided by the 300-fold factor, that gives 0.24mg per kg, or about 17mg a day for a 70kg adult (1).
The FSA then went lower, to 10mg, for 2 reasons. The other 2 rat studies saw no adverse effects only at lower doses, up to 50 and 25mg per kg. And some human studies found liver effects in a few healthy people at around 5mg per kg a day (roughly 350mg for a 70kg adult). That suggests people may be as sensitive as rats, or more so.
The FSA also notes possible interactions with some medicines above 70mg a day. It advises people who are pregnant, breastfeeding or taking prescription medication to avoid CBD altogether (1).
International perspectives on CBD intake
There's no international agreement on how much CBD is too much, and the range is wide. (Updated October 2026.)
- EU: in February 2026 the European Food Safety Authority set a provisional safe level of about 2mg a day for adults, lower than the UK's 10mg (7). No CBD foods have been authorised in the EU yet, and several countries, including France and Germany, now restrict them.
- Canada: in 2022 Health Canada's scientific advisers concluded that 20 to 200mg a day is safe for healthy adults for up to 30 days without a doctor's oversight (8). It's advice, not law. CBD is only sold through licensed cannabis retailers.
- Australia: in 2020 the regulator allowed pharmacists to sell approved low-dose CBD products, up to 150mg a day, without a prescription (3). No product has been approved, so in practice CBD is still prescription-only there.
- US: there's no federal daily limit. The FDA has said CBD doesn't fit the existing rules for foods and supplements.
- WHO: the World Health Organization's 2018 review found CBD "generally well tolerated with a good safety profile" (4).
So the UK's 10mg sits in the middle: stricter than Canada's advisers, more open than the EU's food safety authority.
So, what might happen next?
We expect the FSA to raise its limit eventually, for 4 reasons:
- 300-fold uncertainty factor - we expect a reduction in this factor as new data emerges, potentially leading to an increase in the recommended Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) (1,2).
- Global regulation - Health Canada's scientific advisers concluded up to 200mg a day is safe for healthy adults in the short term, which suggests other experts see room above 10mg (8).
- World Health Organization's (WHO) stance - the WHO's statements recognise CBD's favourable safety profile (4).
- Historical medical studies - past research has demonstrated a favourable safety profile, even at elevated dosages of CBD (5,6).
Wrapping up
We'll keep following the research and the rules as they change, and we're optimistic. We'd like to see regulation that keeps people safe and follows the evidence as it builds.
Explore our range of CBD products that you can rely on, or read more about CBD.
Further reading
- Joint position paper from ACNFP & COT on establishing provisional ADI for pure form CBD in foods (2023).
- Data-derived safety factors for the evaluation of food additives and environmental contaminant (1993).
- Therapeutic Goods Administration: Over-the-counter access to low dose cannabidiol (2020).
- World Health Organization - Cannabidiol (CBD) Critical Review Report (2018).
- Trial of Cannabidiol for Drug-Resistant Seizures in the Dravet Syndrome (2017).
- Safety and side effects of cannabidiol, a Cannabis sativa constituent (2011).
- EFSA: Provisional safe level for cannabidiol as a novel food (2026).
- Health Canada: Review of cannabidiol, report of the Science Advisory Committee (2022).