SECTION 300.101. Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings unless context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) Acceptable hemp THC level--A delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content concentration level on a dry weight basis, that, when reported with the accredited laboratory's measurement of uncertainty, produces a distribution or range that includes a result of 0.3 percent or less.

(2) Accredited laboratory--A laboratory, including at an institution of higher education, accredited in accordance with the International Organization for Standardization ISO/IEC 17025 or a comparable or successor standard.

(3) Act--House Bill 1325, 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, relating to the production and regulation of hemp in Texas, codified in Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 443.

(4) Analyte--A chemical, compound, element, bacteria, yeast, fungus, mold, or toxin identified and measured by accredited laboratory analysis.

(5) Approved hemp source--Hemp and hemp products grown for human use and consumption produced under a state or a compatible federal, foreign, or Tribal plan, approved by the United States Department of Agriculture under 7 United States Code (U.S.C.) Chapter 38, Subchapter VII, or Texas Agriculture Code, Chapter 121, or in a manner that is consistent with federal law and the laws of respective foreign jurisdictions.

(6) Cannabidiol (CBD)--A phytocannabinoid identified as an extract from cannabis plants.

(7) Certificate of Analysis (COA)--An official document released by the accredited laboratory to the manufacturer, processor, distributor, or retailer of consumable hemp products, the public, or department, which contains the concentrations of cannabinoid analytes and other measures approved by the department, to also include data on levels of THC and state whether a sample passed or failed any limits of content analysis.

(8) Consumable hemp product (CHP)--Any product processed or manufactured for consumption that contains hemp, including food, a drug, a device, and a cosmetic, as those terms are defined by Texas Health and Safety Code, §431.002, but does not include any consumable hemp product containing a hemp seed, or hemp seed-derived ingredient being used in a manner that has been generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA.

(9) Consumable hemp products license--A license issued to a person or facility engaged in the act of manufacturing, extracting, processing, or distributing consumable hemp products for human consumption or use.

(10) Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)--The primary psychoactive component of cannabis. For the purposes of this chapter, the terms delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol and THC are interchangeable.

(11) Department--Department of State Health Services.

(12) Distributor--A person who distributes consumable hemp products for resale, either through a retail outlet owned by that person or through sales to another retailer. A distributor is required to hold a consumable hemp products license.

(13) Facility--A place of business engaged in manufacturing, processing, or distributing consumable hemp products subject to the requirements of this chapter and Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 431. A facility includes a domestic or foreign facility that is required to register under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, Section 415 in accordance with the requirements of 21 Code of Federal Regulations Part 1, Subpart H.

(14) FDA--The United States Food and Drug Administration or its successor agency.

(15) Federal Act--Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (Title 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.).

(16) Hemp--The plant, Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds of the plant and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content concentration level on a dry weight basis, that, when reported with the accredited laboratory's measurement of uncertainty, produces a distribution or range that includes a result of 0.3 percent or less.

(17) Independent contractor--A person or entity contracted to perform work or sales for a registrant.

(18) License holder--The person who is legally responsible for the operation as a consumable hemp manufacturer, processor, or distributor, and possesses a valid license.

(19) Lot number--A specific quantity of raw or processed hemp product that is uniform and intended to meet specifications for identity, strength, purity, and composition that shall contain the manufacturer's, processor's, or distributor's, number and a sequence to allow for inventory, traceability, and identification of the plant batches used in the production of consumable hemp products.

(20) Manufacturer--A person who makes, extracts, processes, or distributes consumable hemp product from one or more ingredients, including synthesizing, preparing, treating, modifying or manipulating hemp or hemp crops or ingredients to create a consumable hemp product. For farmers and persons with farm mixed-type facilities, manufacturing and processing does not include activities related to growing, harvesting, packing, or holding raw hemp product.

(21) Measurement of uncertainty--The parameter, associated with the results of an analytical measurement that characterizes the dispersion of the values that could reasonably be attributed to the quantity subjected to testing measurement. For example, if the reported delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content concentration level on a dry weight basis is 0.35% and the measurement of uncertainty is +/- 0.06%, the measured delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content concentration level on a dry weight basis for this sample ranges from 0.29% to 0.41%. Because 0.3% is within the distribution or range, the sample is within the acceptable hemp THC level for the purpose of plan compliance.

(22) Non-consumable hemp processor--A person who intends to process hemp products not for human consumption and is registered with the Texas Department of Agriculture.

(23) Non-consumable hemp product--As defined by Texas Agriculture Code, §122.001(8), means a product that contains hemp, other than a consumable hemp product as defined by Texas Health and Safety Code, §443.001. The term includes cloth, cordage, fiber, fuel, paint, paper, particleboard, construction materials, and plastics derived from hemp.

(24) Pathogen--A microorganism of public health significance, including molds, yeasts, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter, Salmonella, E. coli, Yersinia, or Staphylococcus.

(25) Person--An individual, business, partnership, corporation, or association.

(26) Process--Extraction of a component of hemp, including CBD or another cannabinoid, that is:

(A) sold as a consumable hemp product;

(B) offered for sale as a consumable hemp product;

(C) incorporated into a consumable hemp product; or

(D) intended to be incorporated into a consumable hemp product.

(27) Processor--A person who operates a facility which processes raw agriculture hemp into consumable hemp products for manufacture, distribution, and sale. A hemp processor is required to hold a consumable hemp products license. A person issued a consumable hemp products license, which only engages in the manufacturing, processing, and distribution of consumable hemp products, is not required to hold a license under Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 431, Subchapter J.

(28) QR code--A quick response machine-readable code that can be read by a camera, consisting of an array of black and white squares used for storing information or directing or leading a user to product information regarding manufacturer data and accredited laboratory certificates of analysis.

(29) Raw hemp--An unprocessed hemp plant, or any part of that plant, in its natural state.

(30) Registrant--A person, on the person's own behalf or on behalf of others, who sells consumable hemp products directly to consumers, and who submits a complete registration form to the department for purposes of registering their place of business to sell consumable hemp products at retail to the public.

(31) Reverse distributor--A person registered with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency as a reverse distributor that receives controlled substances from another person or entity for return of the products to the registered manufacturer or to destroy adulterated or impermissible THC products.

(32) Smoking--Burning or igniting a consumable hemp product and inhaling the resultant smoke, vapor, or aerosol.

(33) Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)--The primary psychoactive component of the cannabis plant.

(34) Texas Department of Agriculture--The state agency responsible for regulation of planting, growing, harvesting, and testing of hemp as a raw agricultural product.

(35) Texas.gov--The online registration system for the State of Texas found at https://www.texas.gov.

Source Note: The provisions of this §300.101 adopted to be effective August 2, 2020, 45 TexReg 5195