BSCG. The gold standard in dietary and nutritional supplement testing and certification

BSCG (Banned Substances Control Group) is a leading third-party provider of dietary, nutritional and sport supplement testing and certification and offers an array of supplement quality control services. Founded in 2004 by the Catlins and attorney Ryan Connolly, BSCG works with supplement manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, sports leagues and individual teams and athletes to ensure the quality of dietary supplement products and ingredients and protect against contamination with drugs or other agents that can lead to health problems or positive drug tests.

The BSCG Certified Drug Free® program includes testing for more than 207 drugs banned in Olympic and professional sport and an additional 185 prescription and over-the-counter drugs not banned in sport. BSCG also offers label claim verification, testing for a complete suite of contaminants, and audits for Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) compliance.

Dr. Catlin and his team have long been at the forefront of the efforts to ensure supplement safety for athletes and consumers. In a seminal article published in 2000 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), they were the first to highlight the concern that legal supplements could be contaminated with illegal drugs. Catlin’s group was also first to identify and expose infamous new designer drugs including 6-OXO, Madol, Methasterone, Methylhexaneamine, and Tren that were masquerading as “legal” supplements, and worked alongside the FDA, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and media to combat these problematic substances.

Unfortunately, U.S. federal regulations outlined in Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994; and the FDA’s 21 C.F.R. 111 – Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for Dietary Supplements have not been adequately designed or enforced to prevent dangerous drugs from adulterating dietary supplements. As a result, athletes taking supplements have unwittingly ingested banned and dangerous substances, leading to positive test results and subsequent disqualification and suspension.

Helping to found an industry, BSCG began offering its supplement certification services as an effective remedy to supplement quality control and safety concerns. BSCG’s highly valued certification allows manufacturers to establish their brands and products as safe, reputable and drug free, and provides athletes and consumers with trusted supplement options.

For more information about BSCG and its well-regarded supplement programs, please explore the BSCG website at www.bscg.org.