NOW—the largest independent and family-owned manufacturer of natural products in the U.S. health food store channel—has invested in third-party certification for detection of banned substances to ensure product purity for the entire NOW Sports line. The company is also updating the packaging to new silver labels, with the first lots in stores by the beginning of March.
 
The Informed-Sport certification program, a globally recognized assurance program for anti-doping in sports nutrition products, suppliers, and manufacturers, is provided by LGC, which has 54 years of experience in anti-doping control. The program certifies that each and every batch of a supplement product and raw material bearing the Informed-Sport logo has been tested for banned substances by LGC’s world-class sports anti-doping lab. Professional, Olympic and collegiate athletes will be able to take the nutritional supplements they need to be competitive without fear of failing doping tests. 
 
“NOW’s products already undergo extensive internal testing for identity, purity, strength, and composition to ensure that what is on the label is in the bottle, but we are proud to institute the Informed Sports program for our entire sports line as an additional assurance,” said Aaron Secrist, NOW’s vice president of quality and regulatory affairs. “Typically, some companies have a handful of products certified, but to my knowledge NOW Sports is the first to have the entire line certified, and it is an extensive line. This is a noteworthy accomplishment that will give elite athletes worry-free access to the most comprehensive line of natural sports products in the world.” 
 
An accredited third party lab will test every batch of each product against more than 200 prohibited substances included on lists such as WADA (World Anti-doping Association), NFL, NHL, MLS, MLB, NBA, PGA/WPGA, NCAA and WTA.