All good things must come to an end, but does CBD oil go bad? After all, every responsibly made and FDA-approved bottle of CBD oil should have an expiration date on it. If you’ve ever examined or used your CBD oil around the time of its expiration date, you may be wondering if it’s still safe.
There are multiple precautions we can take when storing CBD oil to extend its shelf life. This could mean that your CBD oil outlives its expiration date if properly preserved. In this article, we’ll take a look at what CBD oil is, what causes it to expire, and when the right time is to start fresh!
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What is CBD Oil?
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a cannabinoid with numerous wellness benefits. Cannabinoids are compounds derived from cannabis plants, and CBD is extracted from hemp (a type of cannabis plant with THC levels below 0.3%). Hemp-derived CBD mixes with a carrier oil and voilà! We have cannabidiol oil.
What’s a carrier oil, you ask? Carrier oils are a vital part of many CBD products because they minimize irritation of the skin and digestive tract. Another key benefit of carrier oils is that they increase the bioavailability of CBD.
Bioavailability refers to the amount of a substance that makes it through your body without being broken down. This is especially important with CBD oil, which people commonly swallow. The CBD must pass through our digestive tract and a certain percentage of what we’ve swallowed winds up in our bloodstream.
Carrier oils maximize this percentage, but they don’t only aid digestion. Carrier oils also boost CBD’s bioavailability and promote soothing feelings when it’s rubbed onto the skin. These are just some of the many benefits of carrier oils, but that doesn’t mean all types of these oils are equally helpful.
The most common types of carrier oils are:
- Hemp seed
- Medium-chain triglyceride (MCT)
- Olive
- Avocado
Try to avoid MCT, as studies have suggested that it could be harmful. The best of these is hemp seed oil. It has a lipid profile rich in heart-healthy oils and fatty acids (omega-3 and 6) that promote our bodies’ overall wellness. It is also a good source of antioxidants, fiber, magnesium, and calcium. Research has suggested that hemp seeds possess a unique and beneficial cannabinoid profile exclusive to hemp seeds.
What Is the Average Shelf Life of the Carrier Oil?
Each carrier oil has its own shelf life. Generally (and we mean very generally), a bottle of CBD oil has a shelf life between 14 months and two years. This is a loose rule of thumb because poorly manufactured CBD oils often have a shorter shelf life than 14 months.
High-quality CBD oil products do not spoil or go rancid. They may be negatively affected by improper storage conditions, but ingesting CBD oil that has passed its expiration date should not make you sick. That being said, fresh is always better, so the sooner you use your CBD after purchase, the better.
Companies that boast an extremely long shelf life could be using harmful preservatives. CBD oil’s wide range of potential expiration is due to many factors that play a role in its longevity. Besides the type of carrier oil used, packaging, exposure to sunlight, and temperature also affect the shelf life.
CBD oil is best preserved in cool, dark spaces, which is why the best products are packaged in tinted glass bottles. Glass is one of the best storage containers due to its barrier properties, which is a term that describes a material’s permeability. Glass bottles are the most secure from external elements.
Does CBD Oil Lose Potency After Time?
CBD oil loses some of its potency the longer it is expired, but it doesn’t “go bad.” Up until its expiration date, a high-quality product should provide you with the same benefits every time you use CBD oil. How much potency is lost after expiration depends on the product and its storage conditions.
While responsibly crafted CBD oil does not turn rancid or harmful, it’s best to play it safe. If your expired product is discolored, gives off a foul odor, or tastes unpleasant, the oil has likely gone bad. Throw it away and avoid that brand in the future.
On the other hand, if your CBD oil looks, smells, and tastes the same after it expires, try a small dose to test its potency. Even if the oil has lost some of its strength, you can always increase your dosage to compensate. An oil that can live longer than its expiration date uses quality ingredients, so make sure to remember the brand’s name!
For many well-made CBD products (especially those that don’t involve food), it helps to think of their expiration date as more of a “best by” day. This means that you will get the highest quality oil before the date listed, but it is not unusable afterward. To get the most out of your CBD product, use it before this date. Can we make our CBD oil last longer? The way that you store your CBD plays a significant role in how long it lasts.
Do Some CBD Products Last Longer When Storing?
Yes, CBD products last longer if they are put in proper storage. This means that where you keep your CBD oil is important, but it also applies to the manufacturer. If the oil is shipped in a flimsy plastic container, it will deteriorate more quickly than CBD placed in a glass tinted bottle, even if stored in good conditions.
We’ve seen that glass’s barrier properties make it ideal for preserving CBD oil, but why should they be tinted? Direct sunlight can cause the molecules within CBD oil to break down, and the tinted glass limits the amount of light let into the bottle. Heat also causes these chemical bonds to deteriorate.
Exposure to air can also affect how long your cannabidiol oil lasts. Keep the product sealed in the container it arrived in. If the manufacturer placed their product in a tinted glass bottle and you keep it sealed and cool, it should live past the general expiration date of 14 months to two years.
We’ll go over some additional steps you can take to preserve your CBD oil in the next section. If your CBD oil still goes bad after you’ve followed all the precautions and checked that there is nothing deficient about the manufacturer’s packaging, you may have a low-quality product.
This is why we say that some CBD products last longer when storing, because others quickly deteriorate. CBD should last roughly 24 months if stored right, but well-made products should not need excessive concern over storage.
There is a slight chance that your cannabidiol oil is simply part of a bad batch. The manufacturer should be quick to refund you and immediately ship out a replacement.
How Can You Extend the Shelf Life of CBD oil?
There’s plenty you can do to extend the shelf life of your CBD oil and get the most out of your product. The ideal spot to store your CBD product is in a cool, dark place like a cabinet. Some people like to keep their oil in a refrigerator, while others store it at room temperature (between 60-70°F).
Even though the bottle of CBD oil is typically dark, put it in as dark of a space as you can find. Since direct sunlight deteriorates the chemical bonds within cannabidiol products, this can make your CBD oil last much longer.
You can also extend the shelf life of your cannabidiol oil by buying products that extract cannabidiol from hemp using CO2 extraction. This technique involves running liquified CO2 through ground-up hemp plant material to extract the cannabidiol and other compounds.
RELATED: Does CBD Oil Need to Be Refrigerated?
CO2 extraction is the superior extraction method for extending shelf life because it preserves the CBD’s chemical integrity. CBD oils that last long need stable cannabidiol so that it does not lose its potency quickly. Stronger chemical integrity will also make the product more resilient to light and heat.
American hemp is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ensuring it is grown using safe and responsible practices. Make sure you only buy hemp made in the USA.
If you store your CBD oil properly and buy products that use top-tier ingredients, your cannabidiol may even last longer than two years!
