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Science in Sport of Lancashire has joined HFL’s list of Informed-Sport approved brands and products, the first to pass through the sport laboratory’s banned substance testing programme.
SiS 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.
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 bolstered when it joined HFL’s evolved certification programme; SiS 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 process, SiS is thoroughly assessed at three different stages; first, 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.
Stephen Moon, CEO of Science in Sport 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.”
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:
“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.”
