Sport testing certifications

If you're drug tested, a contaminated supplement can cost you a positive test. These programs test products for substances banned in sport. They differ in how often they test and what they check.

Why it matters

In the US, the FDA states that it “does not have the authority to approve dietary supplements before they are marketed”. Nobody checks a supplement for banned substances before it goes on sale unless the brand pays an independent program to. Contamination can come from raw materials or shared manufacturing lines, not only from deliberate adulteration.

NSF Certified for Sport

Run by NSF. NSF describes the program as covering:

Product testing for banned substances. NSF tests for 290 stimulants, narcotics, steroids, diuretics, beta-2-agonists, masking agents and other substances.
A review of the formula and the label.
Inspections of production facilities and suppliers, including unannounced plant inspections.
Ongoing monitoring of certified products.

It's recognized by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and the Canadian Football League, and recommended by the NFL, PGA, LPGA and other sports bodies.

How to check: search NSF's certified products database by name, keyword or lot number, or use the Certified for Sport® app, which can scan a barcode.

143 products on Pello are NSF Certified for Sport. We checked every one against NSF's database (143 matched), and each product page links to its NSF listing. 1 products listed elsewhere as NSF certified weren't in NSF's database, so we don't show them as certified.

Informed Sport and Informed Choice

Both are run by LGC under the INFORMED name.

Informed Sport tests every finished batch of a product before it's released to market, screening for over 300 compounds. LGC describes it as the only global certification program that tests every batch before release.
Informed Choice is a monthly retail-monitoring program: products are sampled and tested for banned substances, alongside third-party oversight of manufacturing facilities. It doesn't test every batch.

How to check: search the Informed Sport product search.

74 products on Pello list Informed Sport. Informed Sport's search blocks automated checks, so these are shown as “Listed by The Feed” with a link to check them yourself.

BSCG (Banned Substances Control Group)

BSCG Certified Drug Free tests every finished product lot for 450+ banned substances, plus annual label-claim and contaminant testing and an initial quality-control and GMP audit.
BSCG Certified Quality is an annual testing program for label claims, heavy metals, pesticides, microbes and banned substances. BSCG says it's “not designed for anti-doping protection”.

How to check: BSCG's site lets you search certified products by lot number, product, brand or category.

No products on Pello currently list a BSCG certification.

Cologne List

A German doping-prevention initiative, part of the national prevention network started by Germany's anti-doping agency (NADA). To be listed:

The original packaging passes a label check.
The product passes a laboratory analysis for anabolic steroids and stimulants at the German Sport University Cologne's Center for Preventive Doping Research, at least once a year.
The company discloses its contamination risks and agrees not to use misleading advertising such as “doping-free”.

The Cologne List itself says a listing doesn't mean a product is free of doping substances, only that it has been independently controlled and the risk is “significantly minimized”. Testing is at least yearly, not every batch.

18 products on Pello list the Cologne List.

At a glance

Program	How often products are tested	Banned substances screened
NSF Certified for Sport	Ongoing monitoring; facilities inspected	290
Informed Sport	Every batch, before release	Over 300 compounds
Informed Choice	Monthly retail sampling	Banned substances
BSCG Certified Drug Free	Every finished lot	450+
Cologne List	At least once a year	Focus on steroids and stimulants

What none of them can promise

No program can guarantee a product is free of every banned substance. NSF describes its program as helping to “minimize the risk”, and the Cologne List says no laboratory can test for every substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency list. Certification lowers the risk a lot, but it doesn't remove it.

If you're drug tested, check the exact product (and lot, where the program lists lots) in the certifier's database, and follow your sport's own rules. Some organizations, for example, prohibit hemp or CBD products. How to verify a certification →

Sources

Checked against each source in October 2026. Programs change their rules, so the certifier's own site is the final word.

More certification guides

Food & sourcing

What USDA Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified do and don't mean.

Diet certifications

Certified Vegan and certified gluten-free, and how a certification differs from a label claim.

How to verify a claim

Look a product up in each certifier's database, and spot the red flags.