Cereal Offenders

CA warns players about cereal offenders.
Jon Pierik.

Melbourne Age.

Tuesday, 10 December 2019.

PTG 2968-14728.

Australia's top cricketers have been warned to check what is in their breakfast cereal to avoid falling foul of drug testers.  In a heightened focus on the potential pitfalls of supplement use, players have been informed in a 17-page document ratified by Cricket Australia (CA) that they must even be wary of what is on the breakfast table in case it has banned protein substances.

Alex Kountouris, CA's head of sports science and medicine, said players needed to remain vigilant.  "This is a complex area. It's not a big issue but one we stay across along with lots of other products.  Anything with added protein needs to be batch tested according to our policy, irrespective of brand. It means it is now a supplement and falls under our policy if it had a supplement [protein powder] added. That's the same with lots of products that have protein or other supplements added because we don't know the source of the supplement. 

Cereals are low risk but players still need to be careful.  Typical breakfast cereals are fine but those that spruik added protein must be double checked.  "It's only some cereals that have added protein. They advertise it on the box because it's a marketing point”, Kountouris said.

In the CA document, players are warned that a "number of off-the-shelf products containing added protein substances is increasing, including sports foods”.  "These can include, but are not limited to: cereal and other breakfast bars, breakfast cereals and ready-to-go drinks. It is important that players check the ingredient list of products before purchasing”

"If a product does contain added protein substance (including protein concentrates and blends) the player should provide details to his/her sports dietitian before purchasing or consuming.  The sports dietitian must ascertain the origin of the protein powder and the degree of risk for an anti-doping violation before advising the player”.

Kountouris said players had access to protein supplements from CA that had been approved.  The policy also urges players to be wary of smoothies and shakes.  "Only 'real food' ingredients should be used. The following should be avoided: protein powders, herbal ingredients and ingredients claiming to add extra energy, vitality, clarity or similar”, the policy says.

CA dietitians are required to check if supplements given to players through a third-party have been tested and certified but that is no guarantee they are World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) compliant. This check is "designed to test for a specific range of common contaminants from the WADA Prohibited Substances List and will, in turn, minimise the risk of anti-doping rule violations under the International Cricket Council or CA Anti-Doping Codes. To avoid doubt, these third-party auditing programs are only a way of mitigating risk and do not remove the risk of an anti-doping rule violation completely”.

Players have been warned to not be sucked in by marketing spiel.  "Supplement recommendations should not be based on brand or marketing, but should be assessed on the product ingredient list, third party auditing, origin of manufacture, and alignment to individual player goals and assessments”, the document said.

From a Notts Outlaws POV, let's hope Alex Hales is sticking to a full English for his breakfast, to avoid any doubt....