The Food and Drug Administration intends to collaborate with Congress to devise a harm reduction approach to potential regulatory pathways for cannabidiol products, an agency official said Wednesday.

The FDA believes a new pathway for cannabidiol products is needed to protect consumer safety given CBD’s inherent risk profile and the limited risk management options that exist underthe current food ingredient and dietary supplement pathways, Norman Birenbaum, a senior public health adviser for the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said at a Food and Drug Law Institute conference.

“A new pathway could implement much-needed standards over the largely unregulated industry to help people understand and manage and reduce their risks if they choose to use these products and to make more informed choices about their health overall,” Birenbaum said.

The surging market for CBD products will reach $16 billion by 2025, according an estimate by Brightfield Group, a leading research firm serving the cannabis and CBD industry.

As part of a harm reduction approach, basic oversight measures could be established to prevent contamination across product standards and manufacturing practices, Birenbaum said. Additional safeguards could include clear labels, CBD content limits, and measures to prevent child ingestion.

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