FTC and FDA Send Cease-and-Desist Letters to Companies Selling Products Containing THC in Packaging Designed to Look Like Child Snacks
“Companies that market and sell edible THC products that are easily mistaken for snacks and candy are not only acting illegally, but they are also putting the health of young children at risk,” said FTC lawyer Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Those that prioritize profits in front of children’s safety are at serious risk of legal action.”
“Inadequate or confusing labeling can result in children or unsuspecting adults consuming products with strong resemblance to popular snacks and candies that contain delta-8 THC without realizing it,” said FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Namandjé Bumpus, Ph.D.
“As accidental ingestion and/or overconsumption of Delta-8 THC containing products could pose considerable health risks, the companies who sell these illegal products are demonstrating complete neglect for consumer safety. The FDA will continue to work to safeguard the health and safety of U.S. consumers by monitoring the marketplace and taking action when companies sell products that present a threat to public health.”
The agencies sent letters to the following companies: 1) Hippy Mood (Levittown, Pennsylvania); 2) Life Leaf Medical CBD Center (Murrells Inlet, South Carolina); 3) Shamrockshrooms.com (online only); 4) Mary Janes Bakery Co. LLC and Miami Rave LLC (Miami, Florida); and 5) Earthly Hemps (Cape Coral, Florida).
According to the letters, children can suffer serious health consequences from eating products containing cannabis, and they are at special risk of consuming edible THC products that appear similar to traditional foods because children are less likely to focus on or be able to understand text on the product labels.
After reviewing online marketing for Delta-8 THC products sold by the companies, FTC attorneys determined that their advertising may violate the FTC Act’s prohibition against unfair or deceptive acts in the marketplace, including practices that present unwarranted health or safety risks.
The letters stress that preventing practices that present such risks, particularly to young children, is one of the agency’s highest priorities, and that imitating non-THC-containing food products that children consume is also misleading.
The companies’ Delta-8 THC products purportedly mimic a range of food that appeal to children.
Hippy Mood sells various Delta-8 THC cereal products with names like Berry Boss, Chocolate Balls, Cookie Cat Crunch, and Frutti Rocks that have colorful packages and other graphical elements causing them to resemble packaging for children’s cereal, says the FTC. For example, the Rainbow Rings Delta-8 Cereal package features a cartoon toucan on a red background and depicts ring-shaped cereal in multiple colors – all suggestive of the packaging for Kellogg’s Froot Loops cereal.
Life Leaf Medical CBD Center sells a Delta-8 THC product that purportedly strongly resembles Nerds Rope candy, with both products comprising multi-colored crunchy candies attached to a gummy rope. The company’s packaging features a brightly colored background, the blue and white Nerds logo, and what appears to be the Nerds mascot — a cartoon anthropomorphic Nerds candy with two eyes, a prominent round nose, and two legs.
Mary Janes Bakery Co. LLC and Miami Rave LLC sell Trips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies, which are in packaging that supposedly closely resembles that for Nabisco Chips Ahoy cookies, including the use of a blue background, the depiction of a chocolate chip cookie with a bite taken out on the left side displayed underneath the word “ORIGINAL” in all caps in a white font that mimics handwriting, and the use of a similar color scheme and font for the “Trips Ahoy!” logo as that used for Chips Ahoy! logo. The packaging for other products sold on the companies’ sites, including Stoney Patch Sour Watermelon Slices, Stoney Ranchers Hard Candy, Dank Ropes, and Flaming Hot Weedos, contain color schemes and graphical elements allegedly resemble Sour Patch Kids Watermelon Candy, Jolly Rancher hard candy, Nerds Rope, and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
In the letters, the FTC demands the companies immediately stop marketing edible Delta-8 THC products that imitate conventional foods using advertising or packaging that is likely to appeal to young children.
The FTC also strongly urges the sellers to review all of their marketing and product packaging for similar edible THC products and to take swift action and steps to protect consumers, especially young children, from these products.
Finally, the FTC has asked each company to contact agency staff within 15 days to detail the specific actions it has taken to address the Commission’s concerns.
In July 2023, the agencies sent joint warning letters to six companies that were marketing edible products containing Delta-8 THC in packaging almost identical to many snacks and candy children eat, including Doritos, Cheetos, and Nerds. The letters recently sent follow up on that effort and put additional companies on notice that selling such products may violate the FTC Act and lead to enforcement action.
Richard B. Newman is an FTC attorney at Hinch Newman LLP.
Informational purposes only. Not legal advice. This article is not intended to and should be construed as a complete summary or discussion of the Rule and all of its obligations and restrictions. May be considered attorney advertising.
