7 Important Things To Maximize Your CBD Products Shelf Life
While broad acceptance of CBD products is new and many CBD products have been on the market for a very short period of time, it’s reasonable to wonder whether your CBD products will go bad.
The short answer is, yes. They will. Eventually.
Consumable products all have a shelf life. Some things that will impact the shelf life of your CBD products are: carrier oil (for example, fractionated coconut oil will last longer than cold-pressed hemp seed oil), packaging, and temperature.
We have some tips about best practices around storing and sourcing your CBD products.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Oil-based CBD products should have shelf lives roughly equal to other oils for consumer use, like skin serums and cooking oil.
Oil-based products are advantageous because they are anhydrous, or do not contain water. Water supports the growth of bacteria, which means you should always be more careful with products that contain it like lotions and hydrosols.
This means that oil-based CBD products, like tinctures and hemp salves, should hold up for at least a year. Depending on the carrier oil your manufacturer uses, the reality may be fifteen or eighteen months, even two years!
2. Choose products with high-quality carrier oils!
Higher quality oils may be a little costlier and have a slightly shorter shelf life, but they pay dividends in nutrition and flavor!
Cold-pressed vegetable oils are excellent. Some CBD brands even use hemp seed oil. Look for the words cold-pressed or expeller-pressed on the packaging! Look for Grapeseed, sunflower, or apricot oil rather than coconut oil. If coconut oil is liquid, it has been extensively processed, and many of its finer properties have been diminished!
3. Refrigeration can help!
Keeping your CBD products stored at and below 70 degrees Farenheit will help to extend the shelf life. The cannabinoids do slightly degrade over time, so it’s still best to use your CBD products within a couple months of purchase. But if you don’t or can’t, put your tincture in the frig. This will slow its oxidation which is what happens in oil to give it a funky smell over time.
4. Make sure your CBD comes in light-blocking packaging.
CBD tincture should be in amber or opaque bottles, CBD salves should be in opaque packaging. It’s best if gummies are packaged in tinted or opaque vessels.
5. Don’t keep it in your car!
Especially in the summer, don’t keep your CBD products in the car. Extreme temperature fluctuations can really accelerate oxidation or impact the quality of your product.
6. Keep the dropper for your tincture away from your tongue and lips!
Hold the dropper slightly above your mouth whenever you take your CBD. Bacteria from your mouth on the dropper could cause your tincture to taste off.
7. Look for CBD brands that offer Certificates of Analysis for their products.
This practice can comfortably increase your confidence in a given CBD brand because it indicates transparency, ensures you’re getting what you pay for, and allows you to look at what’s inside the product you’re using.
Above all, please be careful with all the information you consume about what CBD is and what it’s good for. Look into any claims that are made on CBD websites and blog posts by searching for studies that back them up. Lots of research is happening.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What impacts the shelf life of CBD products?
A. Some things that will impact the shelf life of your CBD products are: carrier oil, packaging & temperature.
Q. Will refrigeration help to extend the shelf life of CBD products?
A. Keeping your CBD products stored at and below 70 degrees Farenheit will help to extend the shelf life.
Q. Can my CBD products be safe in the car?
A. Don’t keep your CBD products in the car. Extreme temperature fluctuations can really accelerate oxidation or impact the quality of your product.