The Hidden Threat in Your Supplements: Why 1 in 3 Products Puts You at Risk

In the age of wellness, supplements have become a daily ritual for athletes and health-conscious individuals alike. But a recent study by Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) has revealed an alarming truth: 1 in 3 sports supplements purchased in Australia contains a banned substance.

This isn’t just about poor-quality ingredients or marketing fluff—it’s a potential career-ending mistake for athletes and a serious health risk for everyday users.

New Findings from Sport Integrity Australia

In 2022, SIA commissioned Human and Supplement Testing Australia (HASTA) to conduct an independent analysis of 200 sports supplements available through Australian online retailers. The goal: to assess the likelihood that athletes could unknowingly consume substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The results were deeply concerning:

• 35% of the products (around 1 in 3) were contaminated with one or more WADA Prohibited Substances.
• 57% of these contaminated products did not list the banned ingredients on their label or website.

According to Dr Naomi Speers, SIA Director of Research and coauthor of the report, “This study shows that more than one in three non-batch tested supplements purchased online in Australia contain prohibited substances. And most of those substances were not even listed on the label.”

Why This Puts Everyone at Risk

You don’t need to be a professional athlete to be impacted by this problem. Contaminated supplements can affect:

• Everyday users who unknowingly ingest synthetic stimulants or banned compounds
• Health-conscious parents or pregnant women who may be more vulnerable to endocrine disruptors or heavy metals
• FIFO workers or employees in safety-sensitive roles, where drug testing is part of the job
• Competitive athletes, who risk their careers and reputations with a single contaminated dose

What’s even more concerning is that these substances are often not detectable without advanced laboratory testing—and under WADA's strict liability rules, athletes are responsible for any substance found in their system, whether they intended to take it or not.

As Dr Speers explains:

“The compounds we identified could trigger a positive test result and lead to an anti-doping sanction. In many cases, athletes would have no way of knowing what they were taking.”

What Causes Supplement Contamination?

There are a number of reasons why supplements may be contaminated:

• Cross-contamination during manufacturing in facilities that produce multiple product lines
• Inclusion of undeclared substances to boost the perceived effectiveness of a product
• Lack of regulatory oversight, allowing sub-par manufacturers to cut corners without consequences

These risks aren’t just theoretical. Supplements are a known cause of positive drug tests in sports and workplace drug screening. Without rigorous testing, there’s no way to guarantee what’s really in the bottle.

HASTA: The Gold Standard for Supplement Safety

So, how can you protect yourself?

One of the best solutions is to only use supplements that have been independently batch-tested by organisations like HASTA or Informed Sport.

HASTA (Human and Supplement Testing Australia) is an industry leader in supplement testing. Every batch that earns HASTA certification is:

• Screened for over 250 WADA-banned substances
• Independently tested in a certified lab
• Traceable back to the batch number on your bottle

It’s a level of security that most supplements simply don’t offer—and it’s why all Veritroo products are HASTA™ Certified.

Veritroo Products Listed on the SIA App

The Sport Integrity Australia app is a free tool developed by SIA that allows you to search and verify supplements that have been batch-tested for WADA-banned substances.

Veritroo is proud to have its entire range listed on the app, alongside a growing list of safe, independently verified products. Over 100,000 Australians have downloaded the app, and it sees nearly 7,000 supplement checks every month.

Thanks to this education and verification tool, positive doping cases linked to supplements have dropped dramatically—from 17 in 2016, to 0 in 2022–2023, and just 1 in 2024.

SIA’s Acting Director of Education, Gavin Whitehouse, said:

“Athletes and sports have done a great job in taking the threat of supplements seriously in recent years, but this survey shows we need to continue to be vigilant when it comes to supplements.”

Veritroo is proud to be part of that vigilance—offering safe, clean supplements that can be trusted by athletes, workers, and families alike.

Veritroo’s Commitment to Purity and Trust

At Veritroo, we’re not just here to sell supplements. We’re here to raise the standard.

Founded by myself, a professional rugby player with 50 international caps for Wales and my wife, our mission is simple: Create supplements that are highly bioavailable, tested and truly beneficial.

That’s why we’ve built our entire range around the principles of:

• Transparency – full ingredient disclosure
• Clinical efficacy – dosages based on real science
• Independent testing – every product is HASTA™ Certified

Whether you’re training for competition, recovering from injury, or just trying to feel your best every day, you deserve supplements that do what they say.

The Bottom Line: Don’t Gamble with Your Health

The supplement industry is still unregulated in many ways. But you don’t have to settle for uncertainty.

Choose brands that are TGA-Listed with an AUSTL number and batch tested. Use tools like the Sport Integrity app. Say no to shady marketing and yes to clean, honest products.

Because 1 in 3 being contaminated is one too many.

Explore Veritroo’s HASTA™ Certified range at www.veritroo.com

Highly Bioavailable. Excipient Minimised. Tested. Trusted.