Now, you can order for bhang online
The standardized hemp seeds and seed products can be sold on e-commerce FBOs, but they must have a valid licence and comply with the prescribed standards
image for illustrative purpose
New Delhi: The Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has authorized the online sale of hemp seeds and seed products. Now, e-commerce food business operations (FBOs) have been allowed to sell hemp seeds and seed products, subject to certain conditions, official sources told Bizz Buzz.
Hemp is known as 'bhang' in Hindi.
It may be recalled that the FSSAI had issued an order on October 17, 2017, 'Illegal manufacture/import/sale of products made from hemp and hemp seeds by some companies under FSSAI licence no. on its label.' Following this, e-commerce FBOs stopped the listing of these products on their platforms.
Hemp seeds and seed products have been standardized under sub-regulation 2.16 of the Food Safety & Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives Standards) Regulations, 2011. Now, the standardized hemp seeds and seed products can be sold on e-commerce FBOs, but they must have a valid licence and comply with the prescribed standards.
Hemp, whose biological name is cannabis sativa, is also called industrial hemp. It is a plant of the family Cannabaceae, cultivated for its bast fibre or its edible seeds, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
"Hemp is sometimes confused with the cannabis plants that serve as sources of the drug marijuana and the drug preparation hashish. Although all three products—hemp, marijuana, and hashish—contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a compound that produces psychoactive effects in humans, the variety of cannabis cultivated for hemp has only small amounts of THC relative to that grown for the production of marijuana or hashish." In India too, bhang is used as an intoxicant, but the usage is associated with fun rather than addiction. This is the reason that it is ritually consumed during the Holi festivities.
In several parts of the country, hemp products are used in cooking. Hemp seeds are supposed to be of high nutritional value. The edible seeds contain about 30 percent oil and are a source of protein, fibre, and magnesium. Shelled hemp seeds, sometimes called hemp hearts, are sold as a health food and may be eaten raw; they are commonly sprinkled on salads or blended with fruit smoothies. Hemp seed milk is used as an alternative to dairy milk in drinks and recipes, according to Britannica.
