Hemp business Vasse Valley pulls pet products from shelves after regulator bans products

A ruling by the country’s veterinary medicine regulator has forced a Busselton business to pull some of its products from the shelves. Vasse Valley had been selling products for dogs derived from hemp but stopped last month after a decision by the Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicine Authority partway through last year. The decision puts supplements containing hemp seeds or hemp seed oil for pets under similar restrictions as that for medical cannabis, despite the industry highlighting differences between it and CBD products. Company co-founder Bronwyn Blake said an APVMA representative said they were concerned with the therapeutic implications of omega 3s found in hemp seed oil, which have been linked to anti-inflammatory properties. “Many foods have anti-inflammatory omegas so it seems strange that this should be any cause for concern,” she said. The company decided to pull its products from the shelves due to the high costs of registration for hemp-containing items. Ms Blake said she understood registration could take months or years to complete and cost more than $30,000. “Just to obtain advice from the APVMA as to what is required for registration, each business has to submit a preliminary assessment request, which costs $1000 alone,” she said. Hemp seed can still be sold as livestock feed, provided no therapeutical claims are made. It also remains on sale for human consumption. Ms Blake said Vasse Valley focused more on human products, but the changes had “crippled” businesses which focused entirely on pets. South West Legalise Cannabis MLC Sophia Moermond said she was surprised hemp seed oil had been reclassified as it had been used for dogs for quite some time without any issues. “The other aspect which strikes me as strange is that overseas products can still be used,” she said. “We have high standards in Australia with good quality oil being produced. It appears that the distinction between CBD oil and hemp seed oil was not understood. That is the only logical conclusion for this reclassification.”