Informed Choice

What is Informed Sport?
Informed Sport was developed in 2008 for the elite sports nutrition industry in conjunction with UK Anti-Doping (UKAD). It is the only global third-party testing and certification programme that tests every single batch of a product prior to it being released to market. This programme ensures supplements are examined for substances banned by sporting bodies such as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), collegiate organisations and other professional teams. When an elite athlete sees the Informed Sport logo or on-pack descriptor on a product, they can trust each batch of the product has been robustly tested.

What is Informed Choice?
Established in 2007, Informed Choice is a global retail monitoring and quality assurance programme that helps reduce the risk of impurities and banned substances entering products. All products bearing the Informed Choice logo or on-pack descriptor allow supplement users to know the product has undergone regular rigorous checks and tests. It’s important for any active individual to be mindful of what is in their supplements in order to protect their health. The ingesting of banned substances can lead to severe health effects, or even death, depending on the levels ingested.

What is the Difference?
The key difference between Informed Choice and Informed Sport is the frequency of testing done. Informed Sport certification means every batch/lot of a product is tested before it’s released to market. This means every flavour or variation of a product is tested. Post-certification also includes further assurance through regular blind testing, where the products are purchased from retail and tested again. Athletes can visit informed-sport.com and confirm a batch of a certified product has been tested.

Informed Choice testing is done through monthly blind sampling. This means the LGC laboratory team purchases the product from retail outlets such as brick and mortar stores or websites where it is sold and it is then tested. At least one lot/batch of the product is tested every month, but not all like with Informed Sport. The lots of certified products that have been tested are listed on informed-choice.com.