The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has added the Banned Substances Control Group's (BSCG) Certified Drug Free to its list of recommended third-party certification programmes to help athletes reduce the risk of contamination from banned substances.
The update follows USADA’s comprehensive 2026 review of certification programmes, with the body now recommending the following five:
- BSCG Certified Drug Free
- Eurofins Clean Sport Certified
- Informed Sport
- NSF Certified for Sport
- and TruShield Certified.
USADA historically recommended only NSF Certified for Sport as its single preferred third-party programme.
“In 2004 BSCG helped create a new industry focused on third-party certification of supplements for banned substances in sport,” said Oliver Catlin, President of BSCG.
We are excited that USADA has elevated the importance of third-party certification and recognised us and other industry leaders as vital resources for protecting clean athletes.
USADA noted that all five programmes satisfied the foundational 2018 consensus criteria — using accredited labs, documented standards, freedom from conflicts of interest and testing for substances prohibited in sport.
BSCG is now recognised as a primary consideration when choosing supplements or other consumer products by USADA, the UFC, Operation Supplement Safety (Department of Defense), the NFL and the International Testing Agency.
The USADA advises athletes who use supplements to choose only products certified by a programme that tests for substances prohibited in sport, as well as to confirm that a specific lot has been tested through the certifier’s database or app before use.
“Athletes deserve proof, lot by lot, with records that hold up when someone checks,” Catlin stressed.
USADA’s criteria put that standard in writing. We’ve been testing every lot since day one as we don’t want any gaps in the protection.
USADA’s 2026 review added criteria that certifiers must meet, including the following:
- have no record of a certified product causing a positive drug test
- retain records and samples that can support anti-doping investigations
- test every lot, or at minimum clearly identify which lots are certified
- and certify other consumer products athletes use, such as creams and massage oils.
BSCG touted that, in more than 20 years, no BSCG Certified Drug Free product had received a positive drug test.
The company's standard testing covers more than 450 banned substances, including more than 400 on the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.
Athletes can verify certified BSCG products and lots in an online database.
“My father founded the first US sport drug testing lab at UCLA in 1982, so clean sport has been our family’s work for more than four decades,” Catlin added.
We have been proud to carry on the tradition for more than 20 years at BSCG and to play our part by offering certified products that athletes, military service members and other consumers can trust.
