FAQ’s

The Basics

 

Common Consumer Questions

What is CBD? What is it used for?

CBD is short for cannabidiol. It is a molecule that can be extracted from the hemp plant. CBD has beneficial properties that harmonize with our endocannabinoid system to promote homeostasis in the body. 

What are cannabinoids?

The most well recognized cannabinoids are molecules produced by the body, by plants, and by animals naturally. There are over 225 cannabinoids produced naturally and more being discovered by scientists on an ongoing basis. Cannabinoids produced by plants are known as phytocannabinoids, while cannabinoids produced endogenously in the body are called endocannabinoids. Check out our blog on cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system.

What is the endocannabinoid system?

The endocannabinoid system is a network of receptors that helps regulate homeostasis in the body. These receptors are activated by endocannabinoids produced naturally in the body, but can also be activated by ingesting or topically applying products with phytocannabinoids like CBD.  Check out our blog on cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system.

Is your product safe? Can I see your lab reports? order quantity?

Transparency, safety, and traceability are at the heart of everything we do at OBX. We provide our clients with access to all of the CoAs from a certified 3rd party lab for every product that leaves our facility. We are internally testing our production inputs and outputs at every stage with some finished goods seeing at least six different points of testing along the way to a finished product. Having the ability to test at every stage allows us to identify areas for optimization and ensure product quality throughout our production process.

What is the difference between THC and CBD?

CBD is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid molecule that has been shown to support balance and regulation in the body. CBD is a phytocannabinoid extracted from hemp. THC is a psychoactive cannabinoid molecule that is extracted from the marijunanna plant. Their main difference is the plant from which they are extracted and the influence each cannabinoid has on the body.

Can I overdose on CBD?

There is no record of anyone ever overdosing on CBD. CBD is completely non-toxic. However, extremely large servings of CBD may cause drowsiness.

Are your ingredients organic? Vegan friendly?

Open Book Extracts’ hemp is grown using organic practices and all of our ingredients formulated in-house are vegan friendly. However not every product that OBX formulates is organic or vegan-friendly as we try to accommodate whatever our clients want in their products which may or may not be organic or vegan friendly.

Do your products contain any ingredients for those with allergies or dietary restrictions?

All of our products are free of wheat, gluten, crustacean shellfish, eggs, fish, peanuts, dairy products, tree nuts, soybeans, and sulfites. In addition, there are no animal derived materials including bovine products.

What additive ingredients do you use in your product - any GMOs?

Our products are made with natural ingredients. No synthetic or artificial additives, preservatives or colors are added to our products. Open Book Extracts does not use genetically modified ingredients in any of our products. This includes raw materials used for processing and any processing aids used during manufacturing.

How should I store my CBD products?

We recommend storing your products stored in a dry, cool, UV protected place. Any UV rays, even indirect, can cause cannabinoids and terpenes to oxidize and degrade over time.

About Open Book Extracts

 

Facility  

Where is your extraction campus and headquarters located?

Our 76,000 square feet extraction and processing campus is also our headquarters. We are located at 317 Lucy Garrett Road, Roxboro, North Carolina. 

Is your facility cGMP compliant?

Our food and pharmaceutical grade facility follows all current good manufacturing practices.

What does it mean to be cGMP compliant?

cGMP stands for Current Good Manufacturing Practices and is a standard set by the FDA to regulate manufacturing campuses to ensure that products reaching the market maintain a high level of integrity, safety, and quality. Currently, cGMP facilities are not required in the hemp extracts industry, but at Open Book Extracts we believe our clients deserve the best so we created a facility and follow practices and guidelines to ensure a premium production. 

Do you allow visitors?

We encourage our partners and clients to visit our extraction and processing campus to see first hand the measures we are taking to ensure the quality, safety, and efficacy of every product that moves through our facility. We also offer a virtual tour of our facility for prospective clients; please reach out to one of our sales reps to see the virtual tour.

Hemp

Where is the hemp grown?

Our hemp is grown on independent American farms by family farmers with generations of experience, planting 400+ acres of OBX-sourced genetics in North Carolina, Virgina, and Southern California.

Is the hemp organic?

All our hemp is organically grown. Our network of hand-selected farmers have pioneered hemp cultivation, production, and agrotech, with environmentally-friendly GAP-compliant growing methods. All of our hemp is sun-grown, with no pesticides, and no herbicides.

How do you test your hemp?

We send samples to third party labs to test for pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, as well as THC, terpene profile, and CBD Potency. 

What genetics of hemp do procure? Is it grown from seeds or clones?

OBX uses well characterized varieties; including but not limited to Sweeten, Lifter, Suver Haze, Cherry Wine, Cherry Blossom, Abacus, Cherry Abacus, and Stormy Daniels. Our farmers grow from feminized seeds.

Team

How experienced are your lab technicians and quality assurance teams?

We have brought together a true team of A-players all under one roof. Our extraction team is composed of experts leading teams in pharmaceutical companies, medical cannabis, pHd research projects. Our formulation team brings decades of experience leading product development and innovation at some of the biggest consumer products manufacturing companies in the world. Our quality assurance teams bring experience from highly regulated research and industry environments. We also have data scientists, logistics experts, and a manufacturing management team who lead our tracking and work-in-process efforts that have years of experience in cGMP, pharma-grade, manufacturing facilities. Our team is second to none in this industry. 

Company and Industry Updates

How do I receive updates from Open Book Extracts?

Please sign up for our newsletter by filling out the form on our Resources Page. You can also follow us on social @OBXtracts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and on LinkedIn as Open Book Extracts

Processing

 

Extraction Process

What extraction process do you use? Why did you select this method?

We use the cryo-ethanol extraction method. We selected the cryo-ethanol method for efficiency, safety, and purity. In addition, we recycle and reuse 95% of our ethanol, to support our sustainability efforts.

What is winterizing? Do you winterize?

Winterization is the removal of lipids, fats, and waxes from the crude extract. These components can dilute the cannabinoid fraction, in turn, lowering the purity. Our cryo-ethanol extraction method ensures winterization during the extraction process and produces a premium quality crude extract end product.

Distillation Process

How do you distill your crude?

Our crude is distilled through a continuous two-stage wiped-film distillation process. This method ensures the efficient and consistent separation of multiple components present in the crude extract: terpenes, chlorophyll, flavonoids, other lipids and plant by-products. The removal of these components results in an end product of a consistent, pure full spectrum CBD distillate.

Do you lose terpenes during distillation?

Yes. Any distillation process removes terpenes. We are able to add naturally derived plant and cannabis terpenes back post distillation.

Do you lose cannabinoids during distillation?

Typically in this specific distillation method/process you won’t lose any cannabinoids. The resulting distillate is actually more concentrated in CBD, and any of the other minor cannabinoids that were present in the crude extract. On the contrary though, a process such as crystallization to make isolate, you will lose the majority of your minor cannabinoids and THC, without losing any CBD.

THC Removal Process

What methods do you use to remove THC?

We employ a chromatography process to remove the THC molecules and separate other minor cannabinoids preserving a broad spectrum of cannabinoids in our end product.

Manufacturing & Finished Goods  

Bulk Ingredients

What is the average active CBD content in your products?

Whole Plant Crude Oil : 55-65%
Full Spectrum Distillate: 75-85%
THC Free Distillate: 85-95%
Isolate: 99%+
Water Soluble CBD Powder: Minimum 20% CBD
Water Soluble CBD Liquid: Minimum 5% CBD, 100% Soluble

What is Whole Plant Crude Oil?

We refer to our crude oil as Full Spectrum Whole Plant Oil. We call it whole plant oil because we use the entire hemp plant and maintain as much of the integrity of the plant in this ingredient as possible. It is 55-65% CBD and the other 35-45% of the oil is filled with terpenes, chlorophyll, sugars, flavonoids, and other minor cannabinoids like CBC and CBG.

What is Full Spectrum Distillate?

Full Spectrum Distillate is a further refinement from our full spectrum whole plant oil. Through the distillation process we lose some flavonoids, chlorophyll, and some minor terpenes but are left with 75-85% CBD and the rest being other minor cannabinoids including THC. THC is most commonly known as the psychoactive cannabinoid found in marjuana however when formulating with full spectrum distillate final products are left with <0.03% THC (the legal limit) and it is rare to have psychoactive effects from this low amount. The combination of CBD and these other minor cannabinoids leads to synergistic effects and has a kind of entourage effect where the efficacy of the product is improved. 

What is Broad Spectrum THC Free Distillate?

Broad spectrum THC free distillate goes through a proprietary process to remove the THC. Our broad spectrum THC free distillate is similar to our full spectrum distillate except we have refined it further to remove all amounts of THC below a level detection in rigorous third party lab testing. While the THC in full spectrum distillate does not have psychoactive effects, some clients and consumers do not want trace amounts of THC in their final products. Broad spectrum THC free distillate has 85-95% CBD.

What is CBD Isolate?

CBD isolate is the purest form of CBD with 99% CBD content. Everything is stripped from this ingredient found in the hemp plant except for the CBD so as to ensure the highest potency and purest form of CBD isolate.

What is water-soluble CBD?

Our water soluble CBD was developed alongside one of the largest ingredient suppliers in the world, Prinova USA. Our proprietary process to develop water soluble powder and liquid optimizews particle size to increase bioavailable. Our powder is a patent pending (CBDryTM) encapsulation process. Our water-soluble was developed applying the current prevailing research pertaining to the bioavailability and absorption of CBD in the human body. That particle size is stabilized using three different ingredient technologies in our aqueous system, assuring full functionality during the duration of the shelf life. Our water soluble product is second to none in the CBD industry.  

White Label Services

What white label products do you offer?

We offer numerous topical and ingestible SKUs. We are constantly adding new products, fragrances and flavor  to our white label suite. To see our most recent offerings, please visit our white label offerings page.

What ingredient do you use for white label formulations?

For cannabinoid ingredients, OBX white label formulations are available using both full spectrum distillate and THC free distillate. We offer a diverse range of flavors and scents that are seasonal and change as we continue to improve our formulations for each white label form factor. These offerings can be found on our white label offerings page.

What kind of carrier oil do you use in your formulations?

We offer organic MCT oil in-house. We can provide custom carriers by customer request.

Can I purchase Full Spectrum white label products?

Yes, we offer both full spectrum and T-Free products so that our clients can choose which products are most appropriate for their customers.

Can I purchase THC-Free white label products?

Yes, we offer both full spectrum and T-Free products so that our clients can choose which products are correct for them.

Private Label Services

What private label services do you offer?

We offer the opportunity for you to develop custom formulations for your brand and consumers. We have the capabilities to develop ingestibles and topicals with unique formulation and packaging that will strengthen your product portfolio and resonate with your target customer. 

What experience does your team have in developing products?

Our product development and formulation team brings decades of experience developing both topical and ingestible products with some of the largest CPG companies in the world.

Sales & Distribution

Do you offer samples for testing?

Yes. To request a sample, please reach out to kelly@openbookextracts with the product you’re interested in sampling.

How do I purchase from Open Book Extracts?

You can purchase bulk ingredients directly on our website. For private & white label offerings, please reach out to [email protected].

Where can I get a pricing sheet?

We will send you our up-to-date price sheet upon request. Please reach out to [email protected].

Do you distribute outside of the United States?

Yes. Please reach out to our sales team at [email protected] with details on where you are located and how we can support your business.

What is your price match policy?

We will match any price from a competitor that you bring to us. You get the best price and quality on the market. 

What is your return policy?

We are committed to providing you with top-quality products. Satisfaction with our products is guaranteed or we’ll give you your money back.

Quality Assurance

Hemp

What tests do you perform on your hemp?

We test the hemp of every farmer mid season in the field and homogenize samples that we send to third party labs when we receive deliveries of each farm’s hemp at the end of the season. We also test the hemp in house before we begin processing to track quality and yields during extraction. 

What tests do you perform on the soil for farmers in the OBX Network?

We test our fields for 50 known pesticides.

What tests do you perform on the water used by farmers in the OBX Network?

We test every field to make sure there are no heavy metals and toxins from their water sources.

Work-In-Process & Finished Goods

What tests do you perform during processing in your facility?

We test our product at every stage during processing to ensure quality and safety for every batch moving through each stage of our process. In addition, we test every finished good with a third party before it leaves our facility. 

Do you use 3rd party tests?

Yes, we offer 3rd party tests for all finished products.

Do you run Full Panel Tests?

Yes, we test for pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, myotoxins, and micro-organisms.

How do you control product consistency?

Through specific SOPs that ensure our processes are repeated the same way for each step of our extraction and purification process.

How long are your products good for?

Each product has been through extensive stability testing and every product’s shelf life is unique. You can find out more about each product’s expiration by asking your sales rep ahead of ordering.