Today USADA, along with five federal agencies, announced the results of a national dietary supplement initiative. USADA stands together with the Department of Justice, Food & Drug Administration, Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Department of Defense to rid the U.S. marketplace from poorly manufactured or dangerous dietary supplements, especially those containing illicit or performance-enhancing drugs.
“A combined effort like this is vitally important to protecting the health and safety of athletes at every level,” said USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart. “We work to educate athletes on the risks associated with choosing to use supplements, and we will continue to support further action at a national level to prevent dangerous substances and products from being allowed in the marketplace where they can easily be attained by unsuspecting athletes and other consumers.”
Because athletes are a primary target audience for dietary supplement manufacturers, USADA fully supports the enforcement actions brought by the above agencies because it furthers its goal of protecting clean athletes in the U.S. from products that could harm an athlete’s health and sporting career.
Since 2011, USADA has provided Supplement411.org to educate and alert athletes about the dangers of dietary supplements, and to provide guidance on steps athletes can take to protect themselves. The website offers educational resources relevant to elite, recreational, Masters, and up-and-comping young athletes and parents. The website includes interactive learning pages, and a High-Risk List of dietary supplements that contain, or advertise to contain, performance enhancing substances such as stimulants, steroids, hormone-like substances or pharmaceuticals.
The USADA High-Risk List is now available via a mobile application launching today in both the Google Play and Apple App stores. All levels of athletes, along with their coaching and support networks, are encouraged to download this application to assist in identifying dietary supplements that that may pose a risk to their health or their sporting career. The mobile applications host photos of products and a bar code scanner to make it easier for athletes to recognize and fully evaluate risky products before they purchase or use them.
USADA has also partnered with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, a DoD Health Sciences University to provide Service members with customized information they need about dietary supplements. Through this partnership, the web-based OPSS High-Risk Supplement List was launched in February 2015 to help protect Service members and their families from risky dietary supplements. This resource is accessible on the Consortium for Health and Military Performance’s website the Human Performance Resource Center website at HPRC-ONLINE.ORG/OPSS.
For more information on supplements in sport, visit www.Supplement411.org.