Finola News, Publications and Other Useful Information
THE EU SUBSIDY SITUATION FOR FINOLA as of 25 February 2011
On Wednesday 23 February 2011, the EU Commission voted on a proposal to reinstate the Finola oilseed crop subsidy, but only for Finnish farmers. Representatives from Sweden and Estonia have also asked to re-receive the crop subsidy for Finola. Read the offical decision here.
The Finola oilseed hemp variety was added to the EU list of subsidized crops in 2003, after passing through several courses of rigorous testing. After 2006, Finola was removed from the EU list because some samples from a few member states reported THC values that were slightly over the 0.2% limit. Extensive agriculture research by the Finish Ministry of Agriculture in 2009 and 2010 has clearly shown that late sampling (that is, human error) was the singular cause for occasional high THC values in some Finola field samples. This is the first time that a de-listed hemp variety has been re-admitted to the EU subsidy list. Unfortunately, the subsidy was only returned to Finnish farmers. Finola was developed in Finland, beginning in 1995, and agricultural trials began in 1997. EU plant variety rights were eventually awarded to Finola in 1999, and it was already accepted by Health Canada as an oilseed hemp variety in 1998.
In summary- if Finola field samples are taken according to the sampling procedure described in Annex I of COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1122/2009, then the typical THC value for Finola is well below the 0.2% limit. This fact of nature was already established by extensive testing since 1995. The interested reader is encouraged to read through the Noise from the North articles and a scathing critique by JC Callaway for more background information on this good example of poor administration in the EU. From this information, you will also learn how persistent complaining can actually impact poor administration in the EU, at least to some extent.
Noise from the North!
Although the FINOLA variety of hemp remains listed in the EU Common Catalogue, the EU subsidy was removed for the industrial cultivation of FINOLA after the hot and dry summer of 2006, when a few poorly controlled field samples tested over the 0.2% THC limit in Finland, Sweden and the UK. The following articles describe key features of human ignorance and poor administration for this complex regulation at various levels of government within in the EU. It is still a wonder why FINOLA has remained on the appoved list of industrial hemp varieties in Canada, where it has averaged less than 0.15% THC since 1998.
Read on to learn how persistent complaining for a just cause eventualy does gets results in the EU!
Noise from the North #1 (228 kB pdf) with Amaducci et. al. 2008 posted 10 October 2008
Noise from the North #2 (116 kB pdf) and a scathing critique by JC Callaway posted 15 October 2008
Noise from the North #3 (300 kB pdf) with articles on CBD/THC ratio and CBD pharmacology, posted 23 Oct 2008
Noise from the North #4 (60 kB pdf) with EU Proposal to exclude Finola, posted 3 Nov 2008
Noise from the North #5 (92 kB pdf) Evidence shows Finola THC to be below EU limit, posted 15 March 2010
Noise from the North #6 (52 kB pdf) The EU Commission decides to reconsider subsidy for FINOLA, Nov. 2010
Other Free Information on hemp in the EU:
Click HERE for FINOLA morphology and detailed information on EU regulation 796/2004, and how this regulation has been so poorly understood and mostly misapplied in the EU for the evaluation of THC in FINOLA (2.64 mB pdf)
Useful publications and scientific information on Finola hemp, hempseed and hempseed oil.
Just click on the blue text to download these articles for your personal educational purposes:
Click HERE for a new chapter on Hempseed Oil (36 A4 pages, 524 kB pdf), by JC Callaway and DW Pate. This revised version was published in 2009 as Chapter 5 (pp. 185-213) In: Gourmet and Health-Promoting Specialty Oils, Robert A. Moreau and Afaf Kamal-Eldin (Eds.), AOCS Press, Urbana Il, ISBN 978-1-893997-97-4.
Click HERE for a short new article by JC Callaway (2.2 mB pdf), entitled "Hempseed oil in a nut shell", published in the March 2010 Volume 21(3) of inform; a monthly publication of the American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS).
Click on the title below for an artilce on hempseed nutrition (176 kB pdf):
Click on the title below for an article that carefully descibes the inherent problems in the sampling and analysis of industrial oilseed hemp crops for THC (164 kB pdf):
Older articles on Finola:
Hemp as food at high latitudes. Callaway JC. Journal of Industrial Hemp. 2002, volume 7(1), pages 105-117.
Formation of trans-fatty acids in heated hemp seed oil: A rebuttal. Callaway JC. Journal of the International Hemp Association. 1998, volume 5(2), pages 106-108.
Update on FIN-314. Laakkonen TT and Callaway JC. Journal of the International Hemp Association. 1998, volume 5(1), pages 34-35.
Occurrence of " omega -3" stearidonic acid ( cis -6,9,12,15-octadecatetraenoic acid) in hemp (Cannabis staiva L.) seed. Callaway JC , Tennilä T, Pate DW. Journal of the International Hemp Association. 1997, volume 3(2), pages 61-63.
Cultivation of Cannabis fiber varieties in Central Finland. Callaway JC and Hemmilä AM. Journal of the International Hemp Association. 1996, volume 3(1), pages 29-31.
Cultivation of Cannabis oil seed varieties in Finland. Callaway JC and Laakkonen TT. Journal of the International Hemp Association. 1996, volume 3(1), pages 32-34.
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