Ghost Fitness/Guides/What is Informed Sport certified?
What is Informed Sport certified?
The short answer
A product tested against the anti-doping prohibited list, anabolic agents, stimulants, diuretics and masking agents, hormone modulators and the rest, with its manufacturing site audited and every batch tested before release. It certifies doping risk, nothing else.
- What it tests forthe prohibited list's classes: anabolic agents, stimulants, diuretics and masking agents, hormone and metabolic modulators, and more
- How oftenevery batch, before release, listed on the database
- What elsea manufacturing-site audit for cross-contamination controls
- What it does not coverheavy metals, potency, efficacy, claims
Our brand: the worked example on this page
Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate
- 22p a day
- 180 capsules, 2 capsules daily
- Lab tested
- Made in the UK
A product outside the programme, stated as such: Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate on Amazon UK, batch tested for metals, UK GMP, no Informed Sport certification, £19.99 for 90 days at 22p. Full label breakdown. The verification walkthrough is on the Informed Sport guide; the certification process on the approved-by guide.
The definition, and what the programme tests for, class by class, because the prohibited list is the answer to the variant
Informed Sport certified means that a specific supplement product has been tested, every batch before release, for substances on the anti-doping prohibited list, that its manufacturing site has been audited for controls against cross-contamination, and that the product and its tested batches are listed on the programme's public database, the certification attesting doping risk and nothing beyond it. What does Informed Sport test for is the variant that deserves its own paragraph, because the answer is the prohibited list's classes and the classes are worth knowing. Anabolic agents: anabolic steroids and their analogues, the substances a contaminated supplement most notoriously carries and a positive test most often finds. Stimulants: the prohibited stimulants, some of which have appeared undeclared in pre-workouts and fat-burners, the category where the adulteration literature is thickest. Diuretics and masking agents: substances that can hide other prohibited substances or manipulate a sample. Hormone and metabolic modulators, peptide hormones, growth factors and related substances, beta-2 agonists, and the other classes the list defines, with the list itself revised each year by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the programme's testing menu tracking it. The testing is analytical, samples of each batch screened by an accredited laboratory for those substances at the sensitivity anti-doping testing demands, which is why the certification means something an in-house check cannot, and why a contaminated batch is caught before it reaches an athlete rather than after a sample is taken.
What the certification does not cover, the strict-liability reason it exists, and the definition closed
What Informed Sport certified does not mean is as important as what it does, because the logo is easily mistaken for a general quality mark. It does not certify freedom from heavy metals against the contaminant limits that matter for mushrooms, botanicals and marine oils, a separate certificate of analysis. It does not certify potency, that the product contains the dose it declares, a separate assay. It does not assess efficacy, so a certified product is exactly as claim-free as its register status makes it, a certified proprietary blend of claim-free ingredients being a clean, tested blend of claim-free ingredients. And it does not license any claim, the register doing that and the programme being silent on it. The reason the certification exists is the strict liability rule of the anti-doping code, under which an athlete is responsible for any prohibited substance found in their sample regardless of how it got there, contaminated supplements being a documented source of positive tests and the label, the receipt and the brand's assurances being no defence, so that for anyone subject to testing the certification is the only thing that addresses the risk, verified by matching the batch on the tub to the database and keeping the record. The definition closed: Informed Sport certified is a product tested every batch against the prohibited list's classes, its site audited, its batches listed, covering doping risk alone, and this site's worked examples, stated as always, carry independent batch testing for metals and UK GMP manufacture and are not Informed Sport certified, a fine position for the untested lifter and a disclosure for the tested athlete, who consults the database.
| The item | What it means | What it does not |
|---|---|---|
| Tested for | The prohibited list's classes: anabolic agents, stimulants, diuretics and masking agents, hormone modulators and the rest | Heavy metals, potency, efficacy |
| How often | Every batch before release, listed on the database | A one-off product test |
| The site | Audited for cross-contamination controls | A general quality mark |
| The list | Revised yearly by WADA; the testing menu tracks it | A fixed menu |
| The reason | Strict liability: contaminated supplements produce positives | An endorsement of any effect |
| This site's examples | Metals tested, UK GMP, not certified | A certified product; athletes consult the database |
The verdict, one risk certified and named as such
What is Informed Sport certified: a product tested every batch before release for the substances on the anti-doping prohibited list, anabolic agents, stimulants, diuretics and masking agents, hormone and metabolic modulators and the list's other classes, its manufacturing site audited for cross-contamination controls and its tested batches listed on the programme's database, a certification that covers doping risk under the strict-liability rule and does not cover heavy metals, potency, efficacy or claims. This site's example, outside the programme and stated as such: Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate, batch tested for lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium, UK GMP, no Informed Sport certification, £19.99 for 90 days at 22p a day, right for the untested lifter and a disclosure for the athlete.
What to check on the label
- Know what it tests for: the prohibited list's classes, revised yearly.
- Know how often: every batch, before release, listed.
- Know the site is audited: cross-contamination controls.
- Know what it does not cover: metals, potency, efficacy, claims.
- Know why it exists: strict liability, and the label is no defence.
Our brand
The worked example: Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate
Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate is the worked example for the buying guides because its label is the kind these guides teach you to demand: 1500mg magnesium bisglycinate at 20%, 300mg elemental, 80% NRV, 2 capsules a day, 180 capsules for £19.99, 22p a day, UK made, vegan, batch tested for lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium, address printed, no proprietary blend, and the same four authorised claims any honest magnesium may carry.
- Elemental magnesium per serving
- 300mg (80% NRV)
- Form
- magnesium bisglycinate 20%
- Serving
- 2 capsules a day
- Bottle
- 180 capsules, 90 days
- Price
- £19.99 (22p a day)
- Capsule
- vegetarian shell, vegan product
Questions people also ask
What does Informed Sport actually test for?
Substances on the anti-doping prohibited list, by class: anabolic agents, stimulants, diuretics and masking agents, hormone and metabolic modulators, peptide hormones, beta-2 agonists and the rest, with the list revised yearly by WADA and the testing tracking it.
How often is an Informed Sport product tested?
Every batch, before release, by an accredited laboratory at anti-doping sensitivity, with the tested batches listed on the programme's public database for matching against the number on a tub.
Is Informed Sport a general quality certification?
No: it certifies doping risk alone, not heavy metals, potency, efficacy or claims, so a certified product is judged on the four label tests and the register like any other.
Why does the certification matter so much for athletes?
Strict liability: an athlete is responsible for any prohibited substance in their sample regardless of intent, contaminated supplements are a documented source of positives, and the label and receipt are no defence.
Are this site's products Informed Sport certified?
No: they carry independent batch testing for metals and UK GMP manufacture and no sports certification, stated plainly, so a tested athlete consults the database for certified alternatives.
Sources
- The World Anti-Doping Code and the strict liability principle: athletes are responsible for any prohibited substance found in their sample regardless of intent, with contaminated supplements a documented source of positive tests. https://www.wada-ama.org/en/prohibited-list
- The sports supplement certification programmes: Informed Sport, Informed Choice, BSCG and NSF Certified for Sport test products or batches for banned substances, the assurance competing athletes rely on. https://sport.wetestyoutrust.com/
- UK and retained EU contaminant law: maximum levels for lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic in food supplements are set in legislation, with certain fungus-based supplements holding specific cadmium limits. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2006/1881/contents
- Retained Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods, and the Great Britain nutrition and health claims register. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/great-britain-nutrition-and-health-claims-nhc-register