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INFORMED SPORT NEWS

Spain’s National Anti-Doping Organisation (AEPSAD) Supports LGC's Anti-Doping Testing Programme 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.

“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 Informed Sport 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 Anti-Doping, 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.

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.

For more information, please visit www.lgcgroup.com

Contact details

LGC

Terence O’Rorke

Sector Manager for Informed Sport

[email protected]

+44 (0)7894 094420

Media contact

Julian Quigley

PR Manager

+44 (0)20 8943 8491

[email protected]

www.lgcgroup.com

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