My Edibles Melted. What Should I Do?
Edibles are one of the most popular ways to consume cannabis, especially in legal states. But as summer temperatures start to heat up, especially in the back of a UPS truck in Texas, you can easily run into issues. If you leave your edibles in a hot car or even just in direct sunlight outside, you might find your chocolate has melted or your gummies fused into a big gummy blob. If you’re new to CBD Gummies, don’t forget to check out our full CBD gummies guide!
Although itโs likely to be safe to consume, there are still some important issues to consider before you slice off a chunk and eat it.
Originally, the dosage from the edible would have been consistent and well-controlled. ย So unless you weigh out the total and divide by the servings, your dosage may vary.
In Summary: Hereโs what you need to know.
- Edibles like chocolate and gummies melt at around 90 ยฐF / 32 ยฐC.
- A melted edible is very unlikely to detract from the strength, unless itโs in the heat for a very long time (like weeks or months).
- Theyโre likely to be safe to eat, other than in extreme cases.
- If multiple gummies or chocolates have melted together, you cannot be sure about dosage.
- Don’t just throw them out. ย Start with a small piece and go slowly.
- Store them in a cool, dark location in an air-tight container for best results.
- Purchase them locally.
- Personally, I’d be more worried about the ingredients in a gummy or chocolate if they didn’t melt in the heat.
When Will Edibles Melt?
While there are many different forms of CBD edibles, the most common types that could potentially melt are gummies and chocolate. Both of these actually have a similar melting temperature: 90 ยฐF / 32 ยฐC. Around this temperature, you will start to see melting, and if theyโre exposed to higher temperatures, the process will speed up.
Different gummies might have slightly different melting temperatures, but, if you leave either gummies or chocolates in a hot car for longer than 15 minutes or so, youโll likely come back to a melted blob. Weย recommend keeping them in a cool environment, and always avoid leaving them in a hot car!
Will it Affect Their Strength?
The overall amount of cannabinoids in your gummies wonโt be affected if they melt, because the vaporization temperature of CBD and/or THC is way beyond what theyโll reach unless you literally melt them in the oven. They would have to reach temperatures of over 300ยฐF to cause you problems. You may have some issues with degradation if youโve left an edible in your car for several weeks or even months, but in that case it wouldnโt be wise to eat it for more important reasons than just the THC content.
Ultimately you may lose the form of the gummy, and if multiple gummies or chocolates have melted together, youโre likely to have issues getting a consistent dosage per edible.
Are Safe to Eat?
In terms of food safety, itโs still likely to be totally safe to eat infused gummies, chocolates or anything else thatโs melted.
We do recommend you put them in the refrigerator or otherwise let them re-solidify before you eat them, but thatโs for convenience rather than safety.
Again, unless youโve left them in a warm place for a very veryย long time theyโll be just as safe to eat as they were originally.
Will it Affect Dosage?
The big issue if your edibles get melted is that the dosage is highly unlikely to be dependable unless they were individually packaged. While each individual gummy or chunk of chocolate has a precise amount of THC and/or CBD, when multiple doses have melted together, the only thing you can (possibly) be sure about is the total amount.
Unfortunately, itโs unlikely that youโll be able to break off a similar-sized piece and get the expected dosage. If two have just fused together, sure, the dosage will probably be about right if you break it in half. But as you add more gummies or chunks of chocolate, itโs increasingly likely that the dosage will be unevenly distributed.
If you are like most people, instead of throwing them out, ย youโll probably want to try to get your moneyโs worth from what youโve bought. In that case, youโre very much proceeding at your own risk regarding dosing. Even if youโre very careful, thereโs a chance that the first chunk you have will have tons of CBD. So you start with a small piece โ ideally a little smaller than the average amount โ and wait a few hours before re-dosing. It can take a while for THC edibles to take effect and you donโt want to make the classic mistake of taking more only to have the original piece take effect a few minutes later.
Storing Your Cannabis Edibles Safely
The most important thing to remember about CBD infused chocolates, gummies, candies and pretty much most edibles are storing them in a cooler, dry, environment away from heat. ย Even hard candies can absorb moisture from the environment and end up sticking together, even if theyโre kept out of the heat. When you’re storing CBD gummies, it’s basically the same as storing aby candy that you don’t want to go bad!
So with this in mind, here are a few key storage tips to keep your cannabis edibles safe and fresh:
- Keep them cool: Even if melting isnโt a concern, itโs better to keep your edibles away from sources of heat. It can change the flavor or texture, and in extreme cases or over prolonged periods it can impact the dosage too. So find a cool and preferably dark location to store your edibles. If youโre only storing them short-term, the fridge is perfect.
- Find a lockable, air-tight container: Keeping edibles locked up is crucial if you have kids or pets, but finding a good container will also help maintain shelf life too. If you leave edibles exposed to air it can lead to them either drying out or absorbing moisture, depending on the humidity, and neither is ideal.
- Individually wrap soft candies or chocolate: For soft candies (like caramel) or chocolate, individually wrapping them can be useful for many reasons. It will protect them from moisture even more, and even if they do get hot, you wonโt have issues with multiple edibles fusing into a single monster and dosage will be consistent. Foil is a good solution in either case.
- Avoid leaving them in the car: While it isnโt always possible to avoid having your edibles in a hot car, you should minimize the time ย wherever possible, because this is one of the most likely times for you to run into issues.
Conclusion
Overheated CBD edibles are very unlikely to cause you any serious problems, but if you decide to eat a chunk anyway, you need to be very careful about dosing. The best advice is to just get some more, but if youโre going to take a risk, start small and go slow. And to avoid problems in future, keep your edibles in a cool location and put a bit of thought into storage if youโre going to keep them for a long time.