Do you know what’s in your protein powder? There’s a good chance you don’t, as a number of companies are topping off their products with low-grade ingredients masquerading as complete proteins – an unscrupulous practice known as “protein spiking.” The label on your bottle might say “24 grams of protein” when in fact the true content is closer to 15.
As the price of whey protein has shot up in recent years, so too have immoral practices by shady supplement companies looking to increase profit margins at the expense of – guess who? – the consumer. With protein spiking, instead of putting the full amount of protein in the product that’s stated on the label, a company will purposely come up short and fill the rest of its formula with cheap amino acids and other non-protein ingredients to arrive at the desired amount.
The loophole that allows this to happen is the fact that protein content in such products is indirectly measured by nitrogen content. And any number of things that aren’t actually protein – free-form amino acids, creatine and arginine, to name a few – can raise a powder’s nitrogen levels at a fraction of the cost of whey, thus making the product appear to contain more protein than it actually does. And yes, proteins are made up of individual amino acids, but throwing a bunch of random, cheap aminos into a container doesn’t replicate the various health and performance-enhancing benefits of complete proteins. Not even close.
QUALITY ASSURANCE
One company, however, knows exactly what’s in your protein powder: ChromaDex, an independent third-party testing laboratory on a mission to separate the quality sports nutrition products from the imposters. When you see the “ChromaDex Quality Verified” seal on your tub of protein, you’ll know you can trust what the product label states.
Expect to find the ChromaDex seal on all BPI Sports protein products in the very near future. Since 2009, consumers have put their trust in BPI to deliver full transparency in its products; now, that trust will be further reinforced with an unbiased third-party verification.
In addition to sniffing out protein spiking, ChromaDex’s stringent testing procedures will ensure that BPI products meet full specification for ingredient identity, contaminants, heavy metals and microbials.
“This will be a total game changer,” says BPI Sports co-founder James Grage. “You as a consumer will no longer have to guess whether you’re getting a quality protein product or one that’s been spiked with subpar ingredients This will effect the entire sports nutrition industry. With BPI getting the ChromaDex seal, it will force other companies to do the same. If they want to say that their product is just as good as ours, they’ll have to put their money where their mouth is and get it tested. In the end, this is great for everyone. It means that all the big companies are going to put out better products. You, the consumer, deserve that and should demand that.”
Bad news for shady supplement companies, good news for consumers.
