The sports supplement market was impacted at the beginning of this month by a report prepared by the Brazilian Association of Nutritional Products Companies (Abenutri). The document in question points to adulteration in products from 48 companies, which, in turn, question the validity of these studies and sued the courts so that the aforementioned items would not be suspended.
CEO of the Supley Group (owner of companies such as Probiotica and Max Titanium, one of the brands mentioned in the Abenutri report), Mariane Machioni Morelli claims that there are a series of inconsistencies in the document: “those reports are from 2022 (…) The first error is methodological, as the laboratory where the tests were carried out was not authorized to prepare this type of report by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa). It’s the fact that we don’t know how the items (used in the tests) were collected. There is a methodology for purchasing the tested products.”
Also according to the businesswoman, a significant part of the products accused of adulteration suffered from the practice of “Amino Spiking”, which consists of inserting amino acids into certain formulas so that it is not necessary to add so much protein, an expensive raw material. “In this case, a report that only takes into account the nutritional value of the supplement will say ‘ok’, but the mistake, then, is not warning the consumer about this addition”, explains Mariane.
“This report was made to find some indication of ‘Amino Spiking’, but it did not use the necessary methodologies nor did it take into account the correct chain of amino acids for each product. We went to court to say that this analysis was wrong. Where did he (the report) reported that there was evidence of this practice, in fact it did not exist. All the amino acids present in the ‘denounced’ supplements came from the raw material used in the formulation of the products (…) there is nothing wrong with our products” , says the Group CEO Supley.
Given the developments in this case and the amount of contrasting information on social media, consumers may become confused. Who should you trust? For Bruno Busquet, president of the Brazilian Association of Manufacturers of Nutritional Supplements and Foods for Special Purposes (Brasnutri), this crisis of confidence can only be solved with science.
“Health is based on science, not opinion. Let’s give a voice to scientists, nutritionists, doctors. They are the ones who will tell the consumer what is good and what is not. That is their profession. Therefore, no there will be doubts about nothing”, highlights Busquet.
The speaker also reinforced the standardization and rigor that any studies must follow: “we ask for all documentation of reports (…) There are standards. There is a standard from our regulatory body, which is one of the best in the world. “
“Not just anyone can join Brasnutri. You have to send all the documentation that Anvisa requests”, adds the president of the association. For him, the objective of collaboration is “to defend a more organized and better sector for everyone”.
It is necessary to emphasize that this text is not an advertisement for any company or association. The report sought contact with Abenutri, but received no response.
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