Expiration dates and Batch numbers should be standard on all CBD products because they should be treated like any supplements. What’s more, customers should be easily able to access the COA (certificate of analysis) associated with that batch number.

The FDA specifies that dietary supplement expiration dates must be supported by valid data. Expiration dates can be presented in variations such as “best by” or “use by”. Everything you order from CanniLabs will have both a batch number and expiration date printed on them.

A product’s shelf life is determined by the lifespan of the ingredients that go into it. A common practice is to set a product’s expiration date equal to the date of the ingredient that expires first as a safe baseline. From there, labs that perform stability testing can assess whether the ingredients blended together interact in a way that causes a longer or shorter shelf life.

The easiest way for you to preserve shelf life as long as possible is to store all products at room temp (63F- 68F), away from sunlight and extreme temperatures. The bathroom medicine cabinet isn’t the best place for this due to the humidity that accumulates in most bathrooms.

The average CBD products are good for between 1 and 2 years when properly stored. This depends on when it is made and the materials that go into it.

Can I Extend the Expiration Date of CBD Products?

Expiration dates for CBD products are relatively firm. While the FDA does allow for a manufacturer-initiated extension of an expiration date, it requires shelf-life testing of the product across three separate lots as the basis for the application.

All Natural products

All Natural products with natural preservatives will always have a shelf life shorter than products that have preservatives, stabilizers, and emulsifiers. You will notice that similar products have different expiration dates such as all-natural vegan gummies, which expire in 1 year, and traditional gelatin gummies which have a 2-year expiration date.

Water soluble products

Wate Sobule products have a 9-month expiration date due to the nature of the product and the stability of CBD molecules to stay in their nano-sized particle size for an extended amount of time. CBD and other cannabinoids naturally are oil soluble and have relatively large particle sizes which they naturally want to reform.

Getting the most of shelf-life

Maximizing Shelf-Life

You can maximize the shelf-life in two ways. One, managing inventory and only buying CBD products for your customers for no more than 2-4 months in advance. CanniLabs allows one of the lowest MOQs on the market to help you manage shelf-life and avoid having to throw away unused material.

The second way is to buy from a manufacturer that makes only make-to-order products. Avoid make-to-stock products from manufacturers to keep and sell inventory that is depleting shelf-life. There are manufacturers that make thousands of gallons of CBD tincture oil or CBD salves that sit for months or even years. This is economical for the manufacturer but not for the brands and companies that buy from them. CanniLabs takes a different approach. CanniLabs make all the products make-to-order except highly demanded products with longer manufacturing lead time. Commonly bought products such as standard dosages of CBD and Delta 8 gummies that sit on the shelf for no more than 3 weeks.