Leading endurance nutrition manufacturer Science in Sport (SiS) has joined HFL’s list of Informed-Sport approved brands and products, having been ‘the first to pass through the sport laboratory’s evolved banned substance testing programme.’
(Informed-Sport is a quality assurance programme for sports nutrition products, suppliers to the sports nutrition industry and supplement manufacturing facilities. The programme certifies that all nutritional supplements and/or ingredients that bear the Informed-Sport logo have been tested for banned substances by the world class sports anti-doping lab, HFL Sport Science.)
The SiS Innovation Centre in Lancashire is already an Informed-Sport accredited facility – meaning it has already demonstrated appropriate quality systems are in place. The new certification means that every raw ingredient batch and every product in SiS’s nutrition range will be independently tested.
One key advantage of having its own manufacturing facility in the UK is the control SiS can exercise over inbound raw materials.
Since 1992, SiS has supplied endurance nutrition products to Olympic and world champions, Tour de France winners and serious amateur athletes. SiS has been working closely with HFL to minimise the risk of product contamination that could lead to a positive banned substances test.
At the end of last year, SiS’s partnership with HFL was strengthened further when it joined HFL’s evolved certification programme. SiS then became the first brand manufacturer to be tested using HFL’s new three-pronged testing approach, and will now also carry the Informed-Sport logo, the mark of an assured product.
During the evolved certification process, SiS is thoroughly assessed at three different stages; firstly, every single batch of incoming raw ingredients is tested using HFL’s screen for a wide range of prohibited substances.
Secondly, SiS’s finished products, which were first analysed as part of the registration process, will be blind tested four times per year, with samples sourced by HFL from retail outlets.
The third stage entails two production site audits per year. These are short-notice or unannounced audits whereby HFL is able to turn up and take swab samples from around the SiS factory, to check the facility is compliant and to ensure the raw materials sampling procedures are being adhered to.
This sampling method reflects both SiS’s and HFL’s belief that products used by amateur athletes should be of the exact same standard to those used at the elite level of sport. As noted by the sports nutrition company, professional and amateur athletes alike put their trust in SiS, and SiS takes that responsibility seriously.
Stephen Moon, Chief Executive of Science in Sport plc said “The new accreditation gives even further confirmation to every athlete we fuel and every customer we serve that SiS can be trusted to provide clean nutrition products, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with HFL as we maintain these high standards.”
He added, “Having worked with HFL for over six years now, and knowing the commitment that everyone at SiS shows to minimising any risk of banned substance contamination, I was very confident that we would pass through the new programme and am proud to see this expectation realised.”
Terence O’Rorke, HFL’s Business Sector Manager, said“HFL is delighted to welcome SiS on to the Evolved Certification Informed-Sport programme and to acknowledge its commitment to clean sport.
“SiS has worked diligently to satisfy the rigorous standards set by Informed-Sport and to make sure that every athlete that uses its products can do so with the assurance they have been through the most robust risk analysis programme available.”
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