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Supermarkets are eliminating all Higher Living green tea hemp batches for exceeding the legal level of cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) allowed in New Zealand food products.
The Ministry of Primary Industries said in the recall notice that the imported product made by House of Fine foods in the UK used hemp leaves instead of seeds, which had higher potency of CBD and THC.
In 2017, changes were made to the Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Code to allow the sale of hemp seeds and hemp seed products, but the use of cannabis leaves was not allowed.
The 40-gram box with 20 tea bags was sold in Countdown stores across the country, New World Hutt City, and could also have been sold through some smaller retail stores, MPI said.
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A Countdown spokeswoman said that hemp products were a fairly new area and in this case, there had been some confusion about which products derived from hemp leaves were allowed in New Zealand.
He said the supermarket would review how the confusion happened and seek further advice from MPI to make sure this happens again.
SUPPLIED
Higher Living Green Tea Hemp has been pulled from supermarket shelves for containing too much CBD and THC.
MPI said that while there were no reports of associated illnesses, it advised customers not to consume the tea and seek medical advice if they had concerns.
Customers must return the product to their retailer for a full refund.
New Zealand voted against the legalization of recreational cannabis in this year’s general election.
House of Fine Foods has been contacted for comment.
