Last Updated on 24th August 2020

Can CBD Oil & CBD Products Expire?

CBD oil is becoming increasingly more popular in the UK. Most people who consume it will commonly take it sublingually (under the tongue) every morning as they wake up. With bottles for general retail being found in 10 or 30ml quantities.

As such, with regular use, these will be consumed within a month or two meaning you won’t have to worry about the shelf-life of your product.

Related Article: CBD Vs THC

However, if you have purchased a big bottle or if you use CBD quite infrequently, then you may need to worry about preventing your CBD from degrading. Fortunately for you, there is many steps that you can take to ensure that you don’t waste your hard-earned money.

CBD Oil Shelf Life

From the point when CBD has been extracted from the cannabis plant and place into a carrier oil, its shelf-life will generally be around 2 years when stored in the conditions stated on the bottle – this will be in a cool, dark and dry place. To abide by these rules, you must: –

Keep out of direct sunlight – You may have noticed that bottles of CBD tinctures will come in brown glass bottles, to minimize light exposure.

Keep in a cool place – This can be achieved by keeping it refrigerated or at the very least keeping the bottle out of direct sunlight and away from any potential heat sources. In the unlikely event that you are storing CBD for multiple years then it is possible to store in the freezer (just ensure it has fully thawed before us). If CBD isn’t kept cool the CBD will gradually convert into other cannabinoids which will cause the strength of your CBD oil to drop.

Minimize exposure to air – Air can slowly deteriorate your CBD product. You may have noticed that all CBD oil product comes in air-tight containers. This means that when using it, you should minimise the amount of time that the lid is off and to ensure when the lid is returned to the product it is completely screwed on.

Store upright – This might sound quite simple but ensure that the bottle is stored upright as intended. If the bottle isn’t then the CBD may come into contact will other materials other than the glass bottle, such as plastic lids or the dropper pipettes at the top of the bottle, for example.

Avoid contamination – If your CBD comes with a pipette dropper for using sublingually (under the tongue), then ensure that you don’t touch the dropper into your mouth. This could pass germs into the liquid which may deteriorate. Also ensure that you have clean and dry hands prior to using CBD-based products to reduce germs and water entering the product. If your CBD oil has no pipette dropper, you may consider transferring your dose onto a spoon before ingesting.

How Can You Preserve CBD?

Some general tips for keeping your CBD at the best quality are:

Reading the manufacture instructions – Not all CBD-based products are created equally, some have different concentrations of cannabinoids and may contain different carrier oils such coconut oil or vegetable oil. All these factors mean that each bottle will have a different shelf-life and different tips from the manufacture to ensure the product stays as intended.

Regularly check the product – If your cannabis-based product has gone bad, you will be able to tell by either smelling the product or checking the appearance to see if it has gone rancid or not. The product may have lost potency whilst not going off or mouldy, so this technique won’t necessarily work in all cases, but will keep you from ingesting something that won’t make you ill. A CBD product that has deteriorated will generally go from a clear colour to a fuller, darker colour.

Keep out of the reach of children – It goes without saying that you should be keeping your supplements and medicines out of the reach of children, and this also goes for your CBD oil. Whilst CBD doesn’t have a known point in which you can overdose and won’t cause your children to get ‘high’ or ‘stoned’, it is safe practice and will also stop children from potentially contaminating your product.

Only freeze when necessary – To ensure that you can also use your CBD product, don’t always store in sub-zero conditions. This will stop you wasting time in thawing it every time you need to use it.

Throw product away if expired – If your product has gone over the manufacture’s expiry date (and you haven’t ensured it won’t go off by freezing it) then this means that they can no longer guarantee the product is safe to use. The better method would be ensuring you have used it completely prior to this date.

Frequently Asked Questions About CBD Oil

Can CBD Really Expire? – Conclusion

With only the smallest amount of care and attention, you can ensure that your CBD-based products stay at the highest quality for the longest amount of time.