In a move that has sent shockwaves through the European CBD industry, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) has formally submitted a proposal to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to classify CBD as a Category 1B presumed human reproductive toxicant under the EU’s Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation. This classification is reserved for substances for which there is evidence of adverse effects on sexual function, fertility, or development in animal studies, and for which there is sufficient evidence to presume a similar risk to humans. ANSES’s proposal, published for public consultation in late 2025, relied on a comprehensive review of preclinical toxicological data, including studies that demonstrated reduced sperm motility and sperm count in male rats, altered estrous cycles in female rats, and evidence of dose-related fetal malformations and embryotoxicity in reproductive studies. The agency argued that the existing data, while not conclusive for humans, is sufficiently compelling to warrant precautionary classification to protect public health, particularly given the widespread and unregulated use of CBD products by consumers of childbearing age. This proposal is legally significant because it would trigger a mandatory harmonized classification across all EU member states if adopted. For the CBD sector, such a classification would have devastating consequences, as it would not only impact food supplements but would also impose strict labeling requirements, exposure limits for workers in extraction facilities, and potentially influence the authorization of CBD as a food ingredient, as EFSA would be compelled to consider the CLP classification in its risk assessment. The proposal is currently under review by ECHA’s Committee for Risk Assessment, with a final decision expected in 2027, and the industry is mounting a robust scientific defense to contest the extrapolation of animal data to humans.