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≡ SUPPLEMENT DANGERS ≡
Sports supplements are commonly taken by elite athletes, but a new study released by Sport Integrity Australia once again rang the warning bell:
● “Of the 200 products tested, 35%, around one in three, were found to contain one or more WADA Prohibited Substances. This demonstrates that the risk from sports supplements in Australia remains high.”
● “In this most recent survey, 57% of the positive products did not list the prohibited ingredients on their packaging or website, leaving athletes vulnerable to unknowingly breaching anti-doping rules. Products marketed as pre-workouts, fat burners and muscle builders were the most likely to be contaminated.”
The study, completed in February 2025 and conducted by an independent lab commissioned to do testing by Sport Integrity Australia of commercially-available supplements, acquired 201 different products in random online orders:
“The categories of sports supplements (product type) provided to the purchaser to buy were amino acids, creatines, protein powders, fat burners, pre-workout, post workout, nootropics and muscle builders (including claims of testosterone boosters).”
Of these, fat burners made up more than a quarter of the total items obtained (~27%), with muscle builders second at 15%. The labels were inspected to see if any prohibited substances – according to the World Anti-Doping Code – were listed, and then tested. The results:
● 128 out of 201 (64%) had no issues with prohibited substances.
● 70 out of 201 (35%) included prohibited substances
● 3 out of 201 (1%) were not fully analyzable.
The results by supplement type for prohibited substances:
● 53% (17 of 32) of muscle-builders
● 49% (27 of 55) of fat burners
● 40% (2 of 5) of nootropics
● 34% (20 of 58) for pre-workout supplements
● 20% (1 of 5) for post-workout supplements
● 10% (2 of 21) of amino acids
● 7% (1 of 14) for protein supplements
● 0% (0 of 11) for creatine
In all, that’s 70 out of 201 or 35%, with all of the prohibited substances on one of the classes of anabolic agents, all strictly prohibited under the World Anti-Doping Code.
Of these 70 products which had banned substances, in terms of warnings to the user:
● 57% (40 of 70) had banned substances not disclosed on the label
● 40% (30 of 70) listed names or synonyms on the label
Six of the 70 had warnings on the label, “not to consume if subject to WADA testing.”
The conclusion was:
“The prevalence rate for products containing a WADA Prohibited Substance in this survey was 35%; therefore, an athlete purchasing an uncertified product online has a one in three chance that the product contains a WADA Prohibited Substance.”
Sport Integrity Australia Director of Research, Dr. Naomi Speers, “urged athletes to only use supplements that have been screened for prohibited substances by independent companies such as HASTA and Informed Sport, through a process known as batch testing.
“While no supplement is 100 per cent safe, batch-tested products significantly reduce the risk of contamination because an independent laboratory has already run some checks to see if the product contains a prohibited ingredient before it gets on the shelf.
“We encourage athletes to check all their supplements by using the Sport Integrity app.”
The app offers a list of more than 12,000 batch-tested supplements sold in Australia, and has been effective in reducing supplement-related positives, down to just one in 2024.
It is making a difference.
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