FDA and FTC Warn Sellers of Copycat Delta-8 THC Snacks (2024)

On 16 July 2024 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced warning letters to companies selling food products that contain delta-8 THC — a psychoactive substance from the cannabis plant — in packaging made to look like chips, cookies, candies and other snacks from popular national brands. The FDA’s concern, in its own words, was that “children or unsuspecting adults” could eat these products “without realizing it.”

The letters were the second round of a joint FDA–FTC effort that began in July 2023. This page reports what the FDA’s announcements and consumer update say, what the letters did and did not do, and how a later FDA document, published in August 2026, describes the legal reasoning behind them. The companies and the products they sold are described by category, not by name; packaging is described as resembling popular snack brands.

What the FDA and FTC Did in July 2024
Why the Letters Say the Products Were Illegal
Why Copycat Packaging Was the Focus
What Delta-8 THC Is, in the FDA’s Words
The Adverse Event and Poison Center Reports
The FDA’s Concerns About How Delta-8 THC Is Made
The July 2023 Round That Came First
What the Action Does Not Do
Dates and Status as of 11 October 2026
How the 2024 Letters Fit Earlier and Later Steps
Reporting Problems: What the FDA Documents List
Primary Documents
Key Research Papers
Connections

1. What the FDA and FTC Did in July 2024

Document type: warning letters, announced in an FDA news release dated 16 July 2024. A warning letter is a formal enforcement notice to a company; it is not a Federal Register rule or binding order and has no public comment docket.

Who received them. According to the release, the FDA and the FTC jointly “issued warning letters to five companies for illegally selling copycat food products containing delta-8 THC and introducing them into the marketplace in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).” The FDA “also issued a warning letter independently” to a sixth company “for the same FD&C Act violations.” The release names the six companies; this page does not.

What the products were. The release states that several of the companies sold “copycat food products containing delta-8 THC, including chips, cookies, gummies or other snacks that mimic well-known snack food brands by using similar brand names, logos, or pictures on packaging that consumers, especially children, may confuse with traditional foods.” Its headline describes them as products “That Mimic Chips, Candies and Snacks from Popular National Brands.”

What the companies were asked to do. The FDA “requested written responses from the companies within 15 working days stating how they will address these violations and prevent their recurrence.” The release adds: “Failure to promptly address the violations may result in legal action, including product seizure and/or injunction.”

What the officials said. The FDA’s Principal Deputy Commissioner, Namandjé Bumpus, Ph.D., is quoted: “Inadequate or confusing labeling can result in children or unsuspecting adults consuming products with strong resemblance to popular snacks and candies that contain delta-8 THC without realizing it.” She added that “accidental ingestion and/or overconsumption of delta-8 THC containing products could pose considerable health risks.” The director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, Samuel Levine, is quoted: “Companies that market and sell edible THC products that are easily mistaken for snacks and candy are not only acting illegally, but they are also putting the health of young children at risk.”

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2. Why the Letters Say the Products Were Illegal

The July 2024 release states the violations in general terms. The FDA’s July 2023 release on the first round of letters is more specific: “These warning letters outline violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act related to adding delta-8 THC to conventional foods.” A conventional food is an ordinary food, such as a snack or candy, as opposed to a medicine or a dietary supplement.

The fullest account of the reasoning comes from a later FDA document. In its August 2026 proposed rule on “Substances Generally Recognized as Safe” (section 10), the FDA looks back on these letters:

“In 2024, we sent warning letters to several firms for selling human food products that were represented as containing Delta-8 THC.”
“We stated that no food additive regulation authorizes the use of Delta-8 THC and that the use of the substance was not prior sanctioned.” In the same document the FDA describes a food additive as a substance “requiring premarket review and approval.”
The letters explained “that available data raise serious concerns about the potential harm from Delta 8-THC, including adverse effects on the central nervous and cardiopulmonary systems and that some studies in animals suggested gestational exposure can interfere with neurodevelopment.” Cardiopulmonary means the heart and lungs; gestational exposure means exposure before birth.
The letters “also cited adverse event reports related to ingestion by children and adults of edible products containing Delta-8 THC.”
They “concluded that, based on FDA’s review, the use of Delta-8 THC in conventional foods did not meet the criteria for GRAS status in FDA’s regulations and that these products contained an unsafe food additive rendering them adulterated under section 402(a)(2)(C)(i) of the FD&C Act.”

“Generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS, is the status that lets a substance be used in food without going through the FDA’s premarket review and approval as a food additive. “Adulterated” is the law’s term the FDA used for these foods; in the agency’s account, it was the finding that made selling them a violation of the FD&C Act.

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3. Why Copycat Packaging Was the Focus

The release explains why the agencies singled out copycat products:

Easy to buy. “Copycat food products containing delta-8 THC are particularly concerning to the FDA as they are extremely easy to purchase and are often available to youth.”
Hard to tell apart. “Packaging that is almost indistinguishable from many popular snacks can be confusing for consumers.”
Children in particular. The packaging used “similar brand names, logos, or pictures” that “consumers, especially children, may confuse with traditional foods.”

The July 2023 release adds the adult side of the concern, quoting then–Principal Deputy Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D.: “We’re also concerned that adults could unintentionally take them or take a higher dose than expected and suffer serious consequences. This risk is especially dangerous for those who are driving, working, or have other responsibilities.” She also stated that “children are more vulnerable than adults to the effects of THC.”

The FDA’s consumer update on delta-8 THC describes the wider market the copycats sat in: manufacturers “are packaging and labeling these products in ways that may appeal to children (gummies, chocolates, cookies, candies, etc.),” and the products “may be purchased online, as well as at a variety of retailers, including convenience stores and gas stations, where there may not be age limits on who can purchase these products.”

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4. What Delta-8 THC Is, in the FDA’s Words

The FDA’s consumer update “5 Things to Know about Delta-8 Tetrahydrocannabinol” gives the agency’s description:

Delta-8 THC “is a psychoactive substance found in the Cannabis sativa plant, of which marijuana and hemp are two varieties.”
It “is one of over 100 cannabinoids produced naturally by the cannabis plant but is not found in significant amounts in the cannabis plant. As a result, concentrated amounts of delta-8 THC are typically manufactured from hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD).”
It “has psychoactive and intoxicating effects, similar to delta-9 THC (i.e., the component responsible for the ‘high’ people may experience from using cannabis).”
Delta-8 THC products “have not been evaluated or approved by the FDA for safe use in any context.” The July 2023 release says the same, adding “including when added to food.”
Some products “may be labeled simply as ‘hemp products,’ which may mislead consumers who associate ‘hemp’ with ‘non-psychoactive.’”
The products “likely expose consumers to much higher levels of the substance than are naturally occurring in hemp cannabis raw extracts,” so, in the FDA’s words, “historical use of cannabis cannot be relied upon in establishing a level of safety for these products in humans.”

The update also states the FDA’s concern about delta-8 THC products “marketed for therapeutic or medical uses, although they have not been approved by the FDA.” Research on medical cannabis for one condition is summarized on the site’s Cannabis, CBD and Medical Marijuana for Fibromyalgia page.

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5. The Adverse Event and Poison Center Reports

The FDA documents give three sets of numbers, each from a different period:

FDA reports, 2021–2023 (July 2024 release). “From Jan. 1, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2023, the FDA received over 300 adverse event reports involving children and adults who consumed delta-8 THC products. Nearly half of these reports involved hospitalization or emergency department visits, and approximately two-thirds of these adverse events followed ingestion of delta-8 THC-containing food products such as candy or brownies.”
The effects reported. The adverse events “included, but were not limited to, hallucinations, vomiting, tremor, anxiety, dizziness, confusion, and loss of consciousness.” Background on one vomiting disorder that has been studied in connection with cannabis is on the site’s Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome page.
FDA reports, December 2020 – February 2022 (consumer update). The FDA received 104 reports; 77% involved adults, 8% patients under 18, and 15% did not report age; 55% required intervention (such as evaluation by emergency medical services) or hospital admission; and 66% described events after eating delta-8 THC food products such as brownies or gummies.
Poison control centers, January 2021 – February 2022 (consumer update). National poison control centers received 2,362 exposure cases. Of these, 41% involved patients under 18; 40% were unintentional exposures, and 82% of those unintentional exposures affected children; 70% required evaluation at a health care facility, of which 8% resulted in admission to a critical care unit. “One pediatric case was coded with a medical outcome of death.”
Copycat products in the reports (July 2023 release). The FDA’s June 2022 warning had counted “over 125 adverse event reports from Jan. 1, 2021, through May 31, 2022,” and “Ten of the reports specifically mention the edible product to be a copycat of popular snack foods.”

The consumer update also states that “animal poison control centers have indicated a sharp overall increase in accidental exposure of pets to these products.” It notes that poison center data come from self-reported calls, “do not reflect the entire universe of exposures,” and that an exposure does not necessarily represent a poisoning. Published studies of poison center data are listed under Key Research Papers below.

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6. The FDA’s Concerns About How Delta-8 THC Is Made

The July 2024 release states: “The FDA is also concerned about the processes used to synthesize delta-8 THC, as impurities or variations in composition can result in products that may be harmful or have unpredictable effects on consumers.”

The consumer update explains the process behind that concern. “The natural amount of delta-8 THC in hemp is very low, and additional chemicals are needed to convert other cannabinoids in hemp, like CBD, into delta-8 THC (i.e., synthetic conversion).” The FDA lists these concerns:

“Some manufacturers may use potentially unsafe household chemicals to make delta-8 THC through this chemical synthesis process. Additional chemicals may be used to change the color of the final product.”
“The final delta-8 THC product may have potentially harmful by-products (contaminants) due to the chemicals used in the process,” with “uncertainty with respect to other potential contaminants” depending on the starting material.
“Manufacturing of delta-8 THC products may occur in uncontrolled or unsanitary settings, which may lead to the presence of unsafe contaminants or other potentially harmful substances.”

The update also cites “variability in product formulations and product labeling, other cannabinoid and terpene content, and variable delta-8 THC concentrations.”

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7. The July 2023 Round That Came First

On 5 July 2023 the FDA and FTC “issued warning letters to six companies for illegally selling copycat food products containing Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol.” The 2023 release describes products that “can easily be mistaken for traditional foods like chips, cookies, candy, gummies or other snack food items,” and states the FDA’s concern “that these products can be accidentally ingested by consumers, including children, or taken in higher doses than intended.” As in 2024, the companies were given 15 working days to respond.

The July 2024 release reports the result: “All six of those companies no longer have such products in stock.”

Counting both releases, the FDA’s own figures are six companies warned in July 2023 and six in July 2024 (five jointly with the FTC and one by the FDA alone). This page uses those figures; other totals that circulate elsewhere do not come from the FDA’s releases.

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8. What the Action Does Not Do

Not a ban on delta-8 THC. The letters are aimed at specific sellers and at what the FDA describes as FD&C Act violations from adding delta-8 THC to conventional foods. They are not a general ban on delta-8 THC or on hemp-derived products.
Not a rule. No 2024 FDA rule on hemp, CBD or delta-8 THC was published in the Federal Register. A check of the Federal Register through 11 October 2026 found no FDA rule on delta-8 THC; the only FDA rulemaking document that discusses it is the August 2026 GRAS proposal, which mentions the letters as an example (section 10).
Not a court order. A warning letter is a notice. Seizure or injunction would require further legal action, which the release describes only as a possible consequence.
Not a finding about every product. The letters concern the products the FDA reviewed. The consumer update is the FDA’s broader statement on delta-8 THC products in general.

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9. Dates and Status as of 11 October 2026

4 May 2022 — date the FDA’s consumer update “5 Things to Know about Delta-8 Tetrahydrocannabinol” was last revised (“content current as of”).
June 2022 — FDA warning to consumers about children accidentally eating food products containing THC (background, as reported in the 2023 and 2024 releases).
5 July 2023 — first joint FDA–FTC warning letters to six companies selling copycat delta-8 THC foods.
16 July 2024 — second round: joint letters to five companies and an FDA-only letter to a sixth; 15 working days to respond.
4 May 2026 — Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) rule on hexahydrocannabinol (section 10).
11 August 2026 — FDA proposed rule on GRAS notices, which describes the 2024 letters; comments close 9 December 2026.

Legal status as of 11 October 2026: the July 2024 warning letters were completed enforcement notices with no binding order or rule attached. The FDA’s position as stated in them — that delta-8 THC in conventional foods is an unsafe food additive — was restated in the FDA’s August 2026 GRAS proposal, which is itself proposed, not final, and open for comment. No FDA rule specific to delta-8 THC appears in the Federal Register through 11 October 2026.

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10. How the 2024 Letters Fit Earlier and Later Steps

2022: the consumer warnings. The FDA published its delta-8 THC consumer update (content current as of 4 May 2022) and, in June 2022, warned consumers about children accidentally eating THC-containing food products.

2023: the first copycat letters. The July 2023 joint letters targeted six sellers; all six had stopped stocking the products by July 2024 (section 7).

2024: the second round. The July 2024 letters repeated the approach with six more sellers and added the FDA’s figure of over 300 adverse event reports from 2021 through 2023.

2026: the GRAS proposal. On 11 August 2026 the FDA published a proposed rule, “Substances Generally Recognized as Safe” (91 FR 51834, Docket No. FDA-2025-N-3262), that would require companies to submit GRAS notices to the FDA for food substances they consider GRAS. In explaining why, the FDA writes that it has “drawn similar insight from our more recent experience involving human food products containing Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC),” and summarizes the 2024 letters’ reasoning (section 2). The proposal is described on the site’s GRAS proposal page; the 2025 background is on the 2025 GRAS and chemical review page.

2026: a related DEA rule. On 4 May 2026 the DEA published a rule giving hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), a different cannabinoid, its own listing in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (91 FR 23913, Docket No. DEA-1632). The rule does not mention delta-8 THC. It states that the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 removed “tetrahydrocannabinols in hemp” from federal drug control, defining hemp by a delta-9 THC concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis, and that “tetrahydrocannabinols produced through chemical conversion, even when hemp derived are considered synthetically produced for purposes of the CSA” and do not qualify for that exclusion.

Other 2024 FDA actions on products sold in convenience stores and gas stations are reported on the site’s pages on tianeptine and Amanita muscaria mushroom edibles.

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11. Reporting Problems: What the FDA Documents List

MedWatch and the Safety Reporting Portal. The July 2024 release states that the FDA “encourages health care providers and consumers to report adverse reactions associated with FDA-regulated products to the agency using MedWatch or the Safety Reporting Portal.”
By phone, form or fax. The consumer update lists the electronic Voluntary MedWatch form, a request line at 1-800-332-1088 for a paper form, fax to 1-800-FDA-0178, and the FDA’s Consumer Complaint Coordinators for speaking to a person.
Emergencies. The consumer update states: “If you think you are having a serious side effect that is an immediate danger to your health, call 9-1-1 or go to your local emergency room.”
Pets. The consumer update gives Form FDA 1932a, submitted to the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, for adverse events in animals.
Storage. The FDA’s consumer update advises keeping delta-8 THC products out of the reach of children and pets.

Questions about any cannabis product, medicine or supplement belong with a clinician.

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12. Primary Documents

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2024). FDA, FTC Continue Joint Effort to Protect Consumers Against Companies Illegally Selling Copycat Delta-8 THC Food Products. FDA News Release, 16 July 2024 — fda.gov press announcement, 16 July 2024
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2023). FDA, FTC Warn Six Companies for Illegally Selling Copycat Food Products Containing Delta-8 THC. FDA News Release, 5 July 2023 — fda.gov press announcement, 5 July 2023
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2022). 5 Things to Know about Delta-8 Tetrahydrocannabinol – Delta-8 THC. Consumer Update, content current as of 4 May 2022 — fda.gov consumer update
Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services (2026). Substances Generally Recognized as Safe; Proposed rule. Federal Register 91:51834, 11 August 2026. Docket No. FDA-2025-N-3262; comments close 9 December 2026 — FR Doc. 2026-16296
Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Justice (2026). Specific Listing for Hexahydrocannabinol, A Currently Controlled Schedule I Substance; Final rule. Federal Register 91:23913, 4 May 2026. Docket No. DEA-1632 — FR Doc. 2026-08595

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Key Research Papers

Burgess A, Hays HL, Badeti J, Spiller HA, Rine NI, Gaw CE, Ding K, Smith GA (2024). Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, delta-10 tetrahydrocannabinol, and tetrahydrocannabinol-O acetate exposures reported to America’s Poison Centers. Clinical Toxicology 62(4):256-266 — PubMed PMID: 38686923
Smith GA, Burgess A, Badeti J, Rine NI, Gaw CE, Middelberg LK, Spiller HA, Hays HL (2024). Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol exposures reported to US poison centers: variations among US states and regions and associations with public policy. Journal of Medical Toxicology 20(4):389-400 — PubMed PMID: 39168936
Garay RS, Hays HL, Badeti J, Rine NI, Gaw CE, Middelberg LK, Smith GA (2025). Investigation of the toxic dose of ingested delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol among young children. Injury Epidemiology 12(1):63 — PubMed PMID: 41029884
Tweet MS, Nemanich A, Wahl M (2023). Pediatric edible cannabis exposures and acute toxicity: 2017-2021. Pediatrics 151(2):e2022057761 — PubMed PMID: 36594224
LoParco CR, Rossheim ME, Walters ST, Zhou Z, Olsson S, Sussman SY (2023). Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol: a scoping review and commentary. Addiction 118(6):1011-1028 — PubMed PMID: 36710464
Babalonis S, Raup-Konsavage WM, Akpunonu PD, Balla A, Vrana KE (2021). Δ8-THC: legal status, widespread availability, and safety concerns. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research 6(5):362-365 — PubMed PMID: 34662224
Robichaud MO, Spillane TE, Kennedy RD, Hammond D (2026). Product characteristics, warnings, and marketing appeals conveyed on delta-8 THC product packaging in the United States and Canada. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 87(2):209-221 — PubMed PMID: 40778926

What these papers report, from their abstracts: the 2021–2022 national poison center analysis counted 5,022 cases involving delta-8 THC and two related compounds (98.1 percent delta-8), with children under 6 making up 30.1 percent; 38.4 percent of cases had a serious medical outcome and 5.3 percent were admitted to critical care. The state-by-state study of 4,925 delta-8 exposures found 69.8 percent were reported in the U.S. South and that exposure rates were lower in states where delta-8 THC was banned. The study of 232 young children who swallowed delta-8 THC found central nervous system depression in 75.5 percent and a dose-response link between the amount eaten per kilogram of body weight and severe or prolonged toxicity. The pediatric edible-cannabis study found reported exposures in children under 6 rose from 207 in 2017 to 3,054 in 2021. The scoping review of 103 documents found most delta-8 research used animal or cell models and that products are often marketed in ways that seemingly appeal to children. The 2021 commentary describes the absence of required warning labels, packaging protections and laboratory testing for label accuracy. The packaging study of 140 products found warnings on 32.9 percent and cartoons on 21.4 percent.

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Connections

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