How are CBD products manufactured? A Brief Overview

Have you ever wondered how your favorite CBD oil is manufactured? What is the process involved in making the CBD pill that has become your answer to all the stress life throws at you? Do you want to know how the CBD products combined with your favorite food are extracted? Do you struggle with all these questions? Well, you are not alone. CBD is everywhere. Go to malls, over-the-counter stores, or any online platform – it’s found everywhere in some of the other shapes and forms. In this article, let us understand how cannabidiol is extracted and manufactured for the masses.

What is CBD?

Cannabidiol (CBD) oil is a natural, non-psychoactive compound, present in seeds and stalks of hemp plants, and a member of the cannabis family. CBD possesses properties that allow it to interact with the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) present in our body. The ECS is a complex signaling network that works as a regulator in the body to manage several functions like hunger, relaxation, sleep, metabolism, mood, and appetite. By combining with the Endocannabinoid system, CBD works as a booster dose for the body. It keeps our body system in balance. Those experiencing stress in life or facing chronic pain issues or seizures problems have immensely benefited from the use of CBD products. 

How can you extract CBD oil at the industrial level?

To extract CBD oil, one needs to cultivate or harvest plants with a high concentration of cannabidiol. The plants with higher levels of THC naturally contain low CBD, and thus it is inappropriate to make hemp or CBD oil. Many cannabis varieties, particularly hemp, contain a high concentration of CBD. But those who are traditional cannabis farmers know exactly which hemp plant contains high CBD concentration. 

Harvest the hemp leaves and stalks, and in the next step extract the compound. Luckily, numerous highly recommended extraction methods available in the industries. Hence, one can find a number of extraction solvents in online and offline stores that may extract CBD when needed. These solvents collect CBD oil compounds from stalks and seeds and extract impurities such as toxins from it. Generally, cannabis producers extract CBD oil via a supercritical CO2 (non-toxic fluid) process. In this process, the solvent passes through ground plant material. Once CBD extraction takes place, remove the remaining solvent, leaving behind oil that’s 100 percent natural.

Why is CBD manufacturing important to understand?

The CBD industry is relatively a new industry, with very few standard operating procedures in place to follow. All producers adopt different manufacturing techniques that can also result in final products that vary in properties and functions. Hence, the quality of the extraction method decides the price of your CBD product. So, the cheaper the extraction process, the lower the price. While some companies may go for cheaper solvents like propane or butane, others use organic ethanol to extract CBD from a hemp plant. These solvents remove unwanted toxins and residues from the material.

Some companies also go for ‘supercritical CO2 extraction’, in which supercritical CO2 in extremely cold environments extracts the CBD. This method is very expensive and requires costly equipment to carry out the extraction process. Only those who are looking to scale up their operations to commercial scale should adopt the ‘supercritical CO2’ method. The method is foolproof and ensures the CBD oil maintains the highest quality standards.

Customers mostly look for CBD products extracted using the supercritical CO2 method or via using ethanol. Also, all the companies have to reveal information regarding the extraction method in their product description. Customers can also find information regarding extraction on the company’s website and via its customer service helpline.

Organic farming for hemp cultivation

Most CBD products come from hemp plants. The first step towards manufacturing hemp is farming. Hemp is usually grown in nutrient-rich soil. To produce a certain quality CBD product, one must procure certified seeds and contain less THC content. No pesticide should be used while cultivating hemp on farms. To harvest the hemp crop, you must have readily available labor and requisite machinery to efficiently carry out farming works. Make sure the soil is well-tested, and the climate is suitable for hemp production. 

After harvesting the crop, the next step involves processing, extraction, and separation. Then, the dried plants are stored in a warehouse. The next process is milling, through which plants are converted into powder form. The powder is then taken to the manufacturing facility where CBD is finally extracted. During extraction, all other unwanted material and compounds are removed using solvents and the remaining product is high-quality CBD oil.

One CBD & many cures

CBD has a very unpredictable nature. Its smell, taste, and potency differ with each different harvest. To ensure your end product holds the same quality, separate and infuse Cannabinoids into various usable forms like pills, topical solutions, oil, and vape, etc., among other items. The distillation process only ensures 80 percent CBD, while the rest are other cannabinoids. To extract them and ensure your CBD product contains zero THC content, washing and polishing are mandatory. This will remove all impurities. The end product contains zero percent THC and terpene, while 99.5 percent white, crystal, and purified cannabidiol.

Lab testing and nano-emulsifying

The final step before making the product available for users is lab testing. This process ensures you maintain the best quality and standards for your customers. All cannabis producers have in-house labs that check a CBD product for quality assurance. Then it forwards it to the third-party labs to ensure an impartial report on its quality. The external labs usually check heavy metals, terpenes, pesticides, and other chemicals in the final product. The products are then packaged as per the company’s standards. In nano-emulsifying, the conversion of your CDB product becomes fully bio-available. The method may improve the delivery of active ingredients.

In essence, we can say that your CBD product passes through various steps during manufacturing to ensure you get the best quality product. All the methods discussed above are important to keep the standards high and maintain a reputation in the market.