Informed Sport is the world’s leading testing and certification program for brands producing sports and nutritional supplements. Designed for elite sport, it protects athletes from inadvertent doping caused by supplements contaminated with banned substances. As such, it is recognised by sporting and governing bodies, anti-doping bodies and nutrition industry organisations, and the armed and special forces.
As many as one-in-ten supplements are contaminated with ingredients and compounds prohibited in sport. As a result, many athletes fail doping tests because of the supplement products they use. According to a study carried out by the Anti-Doping Knowledge Centre, product contamination was responsible for 8% of all anti-doping violations between 2105-2022.
Manufacturing standards for supplements vary, while many countries do not follow strict rules in the manufacturing and labelling of supplements. Contamination issues can occur when:
- Products can become contaminated with prohibited substances during the manufacturing process.
- Ingredients on the label may be listed differently to how they are shown on the Prohibited List.
- Supplements may be sold as counterfeit products. Not only can those contain prohibited substances, but they can also be harmful to your health.
- A label stating ‘Safe for Sports People’, or ‘Approved by WADA’ is meaningless, as WADA or National Anti-Doping bodies do not approve supplement products.
Informed Sport has been designed to allow brands to place products on the market that can be trusted by elite sport.
