Informed Sport Program

LGC is the company behind the Informed Sport program. LGC is a global leader in the life science tools sector, providing mission-critical components to customers across clinical diagnostics, pharmaceutical, research & government, food and other applied markets.

LGC provides a comprehensive range of supply chain assurance solutions, specialty genomic analysis tools, reference materials and measurement tools underpinned by leading analytical and measure science capabilities. Our scientific tools and solutions form an essential part of our customers' quality and compliance procedures enabling them to provide safer products, develop new solutions and advance research.

What is Informed Sport?

Informed Sport is a global testing and supplement certification program which provides assurance to athletes that products carrying the Informed Sport mark have been tested for prohibited substances and manufactured to high-quality standards. Informed Sport tests every single batch of a product before it's released to market. After certification, we continually blind test to further ensure the integrity and the safety of the product. 


The Importance of Certification

1 in 10 supplement products could contain a banned substance the informed certifications are comprised of global testing quality assurance and certification programs designed to make supplements safer for use.

Research has shown that some supplement products may be contaminated with low levels of steroids, stimulants or other substances which are prohibited by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) and other sporting bodies. Informed Sport aims to work closely with supplement manufacturers and suppliers by providing high-quality analytical testing and certified supplements to minimize the incidence of product contamination and banned substances finding their way into sport. 

The INFORMED certifications provide quality assurance and accredited banned substance testing for dietary supplements, ingredients, and manufacturing facilities. LGC laboratories test over 22,000 samples per year and are trusted worldwide.


Supplement Testing Labs

LGC has been testing supplements and ingredients on behalf of reputable manufacturers and suppliers for more than 15 years. During this time, tens of thousands of samples have been tested and a number of research studies have been conducted; such studies exploring the prevalence of prohibited substance contamination within supplement products. 

To understand the risks which elite athletes face, LGC has conducted administration studies, which have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. These studies have highlighted that consuming even microgram quantities of a prohibited substance (millionths of a gram) could give rise to a positive doping violation.

As a doping control and supplement testing lab, LGC works directly with sports authorities, national anti-doping organisations and national governing bodies worldwide. Providing advice and expert support, LGC is able to represent the views of partners and assist in the shaping of future regulation. 


Testing Specifications

Informed Sport tests sports supplement products for a wide range of banned substances on the WADA Prohibited List, as well as lists for organizations such as the AFL, NRL, NFL, NCAA, UFC and MLB. 

LGC currently tests over 22,000 samples each year for in excess of 250 substances that are prohibited in sport and/or considered a risk in relation to supplement contamination. Screening procedures include, but are not limited to, compounds such as anabolic agents, stimulants, narcotics, beta-2 agonists, diuretics and new and evolving threats such as vaptans and PPAR's etc.  

LGC is continuously reviewing and developing its testing methodology to ensure new and emerging threats within the supplements industry are addressed - this often includes the surveillance and investigation of suspicious compounds before their prohibited status is confirmed by the wider anti-doping community.