Press Release - Spanish Anti-Doping Supports Informed

Spanish Anti-Doping Supports Informed-Sport
23 March 2015, Fordham, Cambridgeshire, UK - Spain’s National Anti-Doping Organisation
(AEPSAD) has agreed to support the continued expansion of LGC’s anti-doping testing
programme Informed-Sport into the Spanish sports supplements marketplace.
International science group LGC has been working with AEPSAD to increase awareness of the
risks associated with inadvertent doping as a result of products contaminated with substances
prohibited in sport by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
AEPSAD proactively advises Spanish athletes and sports organisations on the issue of
inadvertent doping and references Informed-Sport as the most effective and widely recognised
solution to minimising the risk.
In addition to providing AEPSAD with Spanish language education material for its stakeholders,
LGC has presented to leading members of the Spanish sports supplements industry and advises
it on quality assurance.
“We know that there is a risk associated with sports supplements products, and we know there is
a very high prevalence of athletes using sports supplements products,” explained Enrique
Gomez Bastida, AEPSAD Director.
“If an athlete is going to take a supplement then they must make sure it has been tested for
banned substances, otherwise there is a very real risk they could fail a doping test. There have
been many cases of this.
“Our advice is to only take products that are registered on Informed-Sport. This gives the quality
assurance an athlete needs and guarantees that the batch they are using has been tested,”
added Bastida.
“We are also encouraging Spanish sport to deliver the same message to its athletes, and to only
engage with supplements suppliers that register products on Informed-Sport.
“The new World Anti-Doping Code recognises inadvertent doping as a result of sports
supplements, but an athlete must now prove not only that the product is contaminated but that
they also checked it had been tested. Otherwise they will be banned, even if they can show the
product was contaminated.”
To become registered on Informed-Sport, a product must pass a rigorous audit of its ingredients,
raw materials and manufacturing process, as well as a series of tests in LGC’s anti-doping
laboratory. Once registered, every batch produced must be tested before release to market.
“Spain is a leading sports nation and, like everywhere else in the world, its athletes consume
sports supplements to aid training and performance – it is vitally important that they only use
products that have been audited and undergo ongoing testing for banned substances,” said
Terence O’Rorke, LGC’s Sector Manager for Informed-Sport.
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“Research over the last decade has shown that the risk of contamination exists in this industry.
Athletes are, therefore, at risk of inadvertently failing a test if they are not extremely careful.
Everyone associated with the use of sports supplements – from athletes, coaches, sports
organisations and the manufacturers themselves – need to make sure that this risk is minimised.
“Surveys have been conducted to show that this issue exists across the world and InformedSport has developed into the globally-recognised programme to manage these risks.”
Informed-Sport was established in 2008 with the support of UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) and is
recognised by some of the leading National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs) across the
world.
As well as AEPSAD and UKAD, this also includes the Dutch Anti-Doping Authority, Swiss AntiDoping, Anti-Doping Norway and the South African Institute of Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS).
LGC has already conducted testing for several Spanish supplements brands and will continue to
provide support to both AEPSAD and the Spanish sports organisations. Spanish sports
supplements brands looking to enhance their quality assurance to include banned substance
testing with Informed-Sport can contact LGC using the details below.
www.informed-sport.com
www.lgcgroup.com
Notes for editors
Terence O’Rorke is available for interview, on request
About AEPSAD
The Spanish Agency for Health Protection in Sport (AEPSAD) is the competent authority in Spain regarding the health
protection of athletes and the fight against doping in sports. Consequently, part of its work is focused on the fight against
substances whose consumption could pose a health risk for the athletes and people engaged in sports activities or that could
lead to a sanction due to doping rules violation.
This is a very broad field that includes legal and illegal medicinal products and nutritional supplements that may contain active
substances traditionally used to enhance sport performance that in many cases are prohibited in sports. Accordingly, it´s work
inevitably includes promotion of national and international co-operation and exchange of information among all the
stakeholders, either public (health authorities, customs, security forces...) or private organizations in this field.
About LGC
LGC is an international life sciences measurement and testing company with leading positions in growing markets. LGC
provides a range of measurement products and services which underpin the safety, health and security of the public, including
reference materials and proficiency testing, genomics reagents and instrumentation, and expert sample analysis and
interpretation. LGC serves customers across a number of end markets including Pharmaceuticals, Agricultural Biotechnology,
Food, Environment, Government and Academia.
LGC’s headquarters are in London and the company employs over 2,000 people, operating out of 22 countries worldwide. Its
operations are extensively accredited to international quality standards such as ISO/IEC 17025, GMP, GLP and ISO Guide 34.
With a history dating back to 1842, LGC has been home to the UK Government Chemist for more than 100 years and is the
designated UK National Measurement Institute for chemical and bio measurement. LGC was privatised in 1996 and is now
majority-owned by funds managed by Bridgepoint.
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For more information, please visit www.lgcgroup.com
Contact details
LGC
Terence O’Rorke
Sector Manager for Informed-Sport
Terence.ORorke@lgcgroup.com
+44 (0)7894 094420
Media contact
Julian Quigley
PR Manager
+44 (0)20 8943 8491
julian.quigley@lgcgroup.com
www.lgcgroup.com
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