Adulteration in Sports Nutrition Products: What to Look Out For
Food adulteration, or the intentional debasing of the food quality by admixture and substitution of substances, has been a rampant problem in dietary supplements. As early as 2008, supplements have a contamination rate of 14% to 18% or higher with stimulants and anabolic-androgenic steroids (Eichner and Tygart, 2015).
To make matters worse, there aren't enough effective regulations to protect consumers from adulterated products. As such, it's important for consumers, especially athletes, to be knowledgeable of the supplements they're taking. Young athletes are more exposed to adulterated sports supplements as the products in question are popular among adolescents. Also, young athletes are not drug tested. Therefore, there's less resistance to them using sports nutrition products (Ibid, 2015). At the same time, it is the duty of dietary supplement and sports nutrition companies to have a robust supplier verification program and make sure their products are representative of their label.
What Does the FDA Say About Food Adulteration?
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labels a food economically adulterated if there's any intentional substitution, addition, or removal of a substance to increase its apparent value or reduce its cost of production. The worst kind of adulteration is arguably the intentional addition of harmful ingredients to foods (US FDA, Economically-Motivated Adulteration).
What Are the Kinds of Food Adulteration?
Further, another kind of food adulteration is devoid of any economic gain. Non-economically motivated food adulteration, more commonly known as contamination, is caused either by accidental or natural reasons. However, they can still be dangerous to consumers. For instance, raw vegetables can be contaminated by E. coli due to limited field protection during harvesting and processing, resulting in illnesses among consumers. Also, high amounts of pesticides in crops can result in food safety issues (Johnson, 2014).
Food safety and quality are of paramount importance and have drawn the attention of food company stakeholders. As such, safe foods must be free from physical, chemical, and microbiological adulterants. They must also be free of contaminants, residues, and toxins (Rather et al., 2017).
What Are the Laws and Regulations Employed to Fight Adulteration in Food Products?
To make sure that the food consumers buy is actually the food declared on the label, the US FDA implements the following laws:
- The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) provide common adulteration charges if a valuable ingredient of the food is left or taken out. In addition, food is considered misbranded if the labeling is false, misleading, or if the food is sold under a different name through this regulation.
- FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requires companies to put preventive controls against hazards intentionally introduced to human and animal food for economic gain.
- Labeling Regulations enforce regulations on how manufacturers label their products. For instance, companies are required to put the concentration of juice on the beverages' labels that have fruit or vegetable juice as an ingredient.
- Standard of Identity Regulation promotes honesty and fair dealing for consumers. This entails laying out what a product must contain if it is represented as a certain food. For instance, a food labeled as olive oil must be olive oil and not some other kind of vegetable oil.
Economically Motivated Adulteration in Sports Nutrition Products
Dangers of performance-enhancing drugs have been a problem in sports in recent decades. Products marketed for bodybuilding, energy enhancement, and weight loss are sometimes adulterated with anabolic agents, stimulants, or pharmaceuticals that often pose health and anti-doping risks, especially to younger athletes.
Understandably, athletes want to improve their performance. While others assume that sports nutrition products are always safe, there are a lot of studies that prove otherwise. For instance, reviews on the contents of sports supplements show more than 14% contamination of stimulants and anabolic-androgenic steroids (Eichner and Tygart, 2015).
What Are the Compounds Found in Sports Supplements?
The FDA determined the improper ingredients in adulterated products. The organization's rules include ephedrine alkaloids and androstenedione to be adulterated. These compounds are used for weight loss and improvement of athletic performance, according to the National Institutes of Health.
In 2010, the FDA sent a warning letter indicating that Piracetam and 1,4,6-etioallocholan-dione (ATD) are new drugs and not simply supplements. Piracetam is usually marketed in powder forms, and some products claim that it supports memory and concentration, overall well-being, and stamina. ATD, on the other hand, is an aromatase inhibitor marketed as a dietary supplement to suppress estrogen and boost testosterone.
Two years later, the FDA issued 11 warning letters for sports nutrition products that contain DMMA (1,3-dimethylamylamine) or geranium extract. It is marketed as a natural stimulant derived from geranium.
There are several ways in which a supplement may be considered adulterated, according to the FDA. For instance, those that contain poisonous, unsanitary ingredients, those with substances that may be injurious to health, and the presence of heavy metals, pesticides, or microbiological agents can render a food supplement adulterated.
Impurities are the more common cause of adulteration in sports nutrition. This can be caused by mishandling or intentional adulteration of the supplement. As such, the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) released a prohibited list of ingredients in the dietary supplement industry. During testing, the compound can be identified as an intentional adulteration or a natural or environmental presence (Natural Products Insider).
The Cost of Selling Adulterated Products
As of this writing, the true health consequences of adulterated supplements still lack sufficient data as the adverse events are notoriously underreported. Nevertheless, side effects include acute events and chronic health problems for the consumers, especially young athletes (Eichner and Tygart, 2015).
Nutrition and Labelling and Education Act of 1990 (NLEA) require nutrition labeling for most foods and authorizes the use of nutrient content claims and appropriate FDA-approved health claims. The FDA maintains a public database of supplements adulterated with drugs. This can result in the removal of the product from commerce, loss of consumer trust, and damage to the company's integrity (Cohen, 2018).
Is Your Supplement Free of Adulteration?
Adulteration in sports nutrition products is a global problem and isn't going away any time soon, despite the mandates in place. There are a lot of ingredients that may be in your supplements, whether intentionally or by accident. Ensure your consumer's health and trust by partnering with Eurofins' network of ISO 17025 accredited laboratories.
We can help you accurately identify ingredients and avoid adulteration issues. Be knowledgeable about all the ingredients of your products. Contact your local Eurofins laboratory today.
