Informed-Choice Reinforces Need to Test Supplements for Inadvertent Contamination After Recent NFL Players' Posi...( Organization Focuses on Raising Leve...),Health

Organization Focuses on Raising Level of Awareness and Educating Athletes

to Help Reduce Risk

WESTMINSTER, Colo., Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- In light of a rash of positive test results that violate the NFL's drug policy, Informed-Choice, a supplement testing and certification organization and world-class anti-doping laboratory, says that athletes, trainers, coaches and sports organizations need more reliable and easily accessible sources for information associated with supplement testing in order to avoid testing positive for banned substances in sport.

As a result of recent positive findings, Informed-Choice has been approached by professional sports to supply third-party testing on StarCaps (the weight-loss supplement in question) for bumetanide, a drug that acts as a diuretic and can be potentially used as a masking agent.

Since issuing research last December that demonstrated the potential for contamination in supplements, Informed-Choice has focused its efforts on educating athletes, professional sports organizations, academic institutions and anyone who chooses a supplement for themselves or others on how to make an "informed choice" based on appropriate and rigorous testing.

"Responsibility for the quality of a product rests entirely with manufacturers as they must do everything in their power to keep their products free of contamination," said Paul Klinger, executive director, Informed- Choice. "Unfortunately, even trace levels of contamination are potentially important -- especially in cases of athletes testing positive for banned substances for which they were unaware they were taking. Detecting contamination, in this respect, requires a sensitivity of testing beyond most quality-control systems."

A growing number of reputable supplement companies are now testing their products with third-party organizations, such as Informed-Choice, as part of their expanded quality-control policies.