WILL YOUR CBD OIL EXPIRE?

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a chemical cannabinoid compound found in the cannabis sativa plant. Its numerous benefits have made them more popular, with many people prioritizing them as natural drugs in boosting their wellness. This compound has no psychoactive effects making them suitable for different classes. Since various products have an expiry date, most consumers wonder if CBD oil expires. CBD consumers continue to raise concerns regarding CBD oil. Medically, the consumption of expired products has negative side effects. Therefore, it is important to check the expiry date of every CBD product.

How Long Does CBD Oil Last?

The storage life for CBD oil ranges from 14-24 months, depending on its storage condition. Intense heat and direct sunlight are the major factors that cause CBD oil spoilage before its expiry date. High-quality products have a longer shelf-life, especially those that underwent minimal refining, such as full or whole spectrum cannabidiol oil. Also, pure cannabidiol oil has a longer shelf life than flavored oil because any extra ingredient contains shortens the storage life of CBD. In addition, consumers should know the extraction process used in manufacturing CBD oil. Most cannabis specialists confirm that the carbon dioxide extraction method is superior for generating high-quality oil with longer potency. This is because the cannabis compounds or hemp are stable during this extraction method. Other extraction techniques destabilize the compounds, producing a lower quality CBD oil with shortened storage life. Any cannabidiol product should have an expiry date indicated on the catalog. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) needs such tagging for customer protection.

Factors Determining the CBD Oil’s Storage Life

Vendors

Currently, cannabidiol is unregulated, implying that some illegitimate companies produce and sell poor-quality cannabidiol oil. Sometimes, these products are cataloged as premium but lack laboratory testing results. Such products might have other constituents that negatively interfere with the storage life of these products. In this regard, consumers are advised to select reputable trademarks. These brands mostly use organic ingredients without incorporating other strange constituents into their products.

Type of CBD

CBD products come in different types, including isolates, broad-spectrum, and full spectrum. Full-spectrum cannabidiol has a minimally processed formulation. It has other botanical constituents, such as plant waxes and essential oils, with a lower shelf life than cannabidiol. Broad-spectrum and full-spectrum products are similar, except the former don’t have tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Theoretically, cannabidiol isolate is pure and has a longer storage life.

Extraction Method

The carbon dioxide extraction method is the highest standard for CBD production. It optimizes the CBD yields and various compounds from hemp, sustaining their stability. This ensures CBD products have a long shelf life. The ethanol extraction technique is ideal if the producer cannot bear the carbon dioxide extraction costs. However, products manufactured from hydrocarbon solvents like propane, hexane, or butane leave a harmful deposit if not well eradicated. This negatively affects the shelf life of CBD products.

Hemp Quality

Experts regard hemp as a hyperaccumulator, implying that it absorbs substances in its environment, even harmful ones. When soils contain heavy metals and crops are sprayed with chemicals, the hemp sucks in these pesticides and induces them into the final products. These harmful substances can be eliminated from the products, but the refinement process includes greater temperatures which compromise the cannabinoid profile. The CBD oils with the longest shelf life are extracted from non-chemical (organic) hemp grown in nutrient-rich and organic soils.

Storage

Cannabidiol oil loses its potency if kept for more than 2 years or stored improperly. The potency loss implies that cannabinoids have deteriorated and cannot function at high levels in the body. Also, using older bottles implies that you won’t experience the intended effects. ExPosing CBD oil to direct sunlight and extreme temPeratures reduces its shelf life. Besides potency loss, CBD oil can degrade to the extent of destroying its entire quality, thus increasing sickness susceptibility.

How To Discover Your Cannabidiol Oil Has Gone Bad

The Expiry Date

CBD users should confirm the expiry dates before purchasing any product. As established, all cannabidiol products should have expiry dates appearing on the catalog, as stipulated by FDA.

Cloudy and Dark Appearance

Cannabidiol oil will appear white, cloudy, dark brown, or clear depending on the carrier oil variety utilized. Notably, cloudy consistency is linked with a Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT) carrier oil. Find out whether the CBD oil changes to chunky or brown at normal temperature.

How To Increase CBD Oil Shelf Life?

Avoid exposing CBD oil to intense air or direct sunlight. This destroys other cannabinoids, terpenes, or CBD, ruining the CBD oil quality. Exposure to strong heat and light enhances oil oxidation causing evaporation and destabilization.

Conclusion

Cannabidiol oil expires, although its shelf life is long. Selecting high-quality products and proper storage helps maintain potency and freshness longer. Using expired CBD oil might have negative side effects. Therefore, consumers should check for signs such as the product’s texture, smell, flavor, and color. In addition, CBD oils lose strength with time, particularly when exposed to environmental factors like air, light, and heat. This is why users should have proper CBD oil storage to increase its storage life. CBD consumers can also easily determine whether the CBD oil is expired by confirming the expiry dates checking color and texture.