| Posted 12 February 2021 Readers may be aware that Albe Geldenhuys (USN) and MNI (Antagolin) (Dr Conrad Smith) is suing CamCheck and Dr Harris Steinman for alleged defamation. We regard this as what is recognised internationally as a SLAPP suite (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation). In other words, these two companies are trying to silence CamCheck and Dr Steinman for pointing out the insufficient robust evidence, among other, in support of the claims being made for their products. South Africa has not previously recognised SLAPP suits for what they are, until now. In a recent court ruling, Judge Goliath – for the first time in South Africa, acknowledged this pernicious practice for what it is. Quotes from the ruling: “It is trite that legal process is abused when it is used for a purpose other than that for what it has been intended or designed for. Corporations should not be … Read the rest There is no physical reason for athletes to increase protein intake with supplements, says the German Nutrition Society (DGE), who recommend a balanced diet to achieve all protein requirements. In the last of seven position papers by the society, the paper recommends that protein intake depending on training conditions and goals should be at approx. 1.2-2.0 grams per kilogram (g /kg) body weight. Regarding supplementation. Dr Helmut Heseker, professor of nutritional science at the university of Paderborn states, “In the everyday nutritional routine of athletes there is no physiological reason to supplement protein intake with supplements and a balanced diet is usually superior to supplements.” Read further … Read the rest Posted 07 November 2019 This South African study found that the the majority of 100% Whey or Casein protein powders, e.g. made by USN, Nutritech, Evox , do not contain the levels of protein as indicated on the label. But more seriously, these products claim to build muscle – but have been stripped of essential amino acids so they are not “proper proteins” and therefore, cannot do so, but can only be utilised as fuel. Subject: 12th IFDC 2017 Special Issue – High protein sports supplements: Protein quality and label compliance ScienceDirect 12th IFDC 2017 Special Issue – High protein sports supplements: Protein quality and label compliance⋆ Hettie C.Schönfeld Nicolette Hall BeulahPretorius Journal of Food Composition and Analysis Volume 83, October 2019, 103293 Highlights - International harmonization of food-type supplement regulations is limited.
- Protein supplements are not distinctly regulated in S. Africa by local food control.
- Commercial high-protein sport supplement label
… Read the rest Posted 18 September 2019 From NutraIngredients Fat-burner supplement recalled due to high caffeine contentBy Will Chu 12-Sep-2019 – Last updated on 11-Sep-2019 at 16:57 GMT Belgium’s Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) is recalling a popular fat-burning supplement after checks found the product’s caffeine content to be in excess of that labelled. Bottles of the product, Phedra Cut Lipo XT Fat Burner (60 tablets) are to be taken off the shelves of the distributor, Charleroi -based sports equipment shop Intersport Gosselies. “The company has decided in consultation with the FASFC to remove the following product from the sale and recall it from the consumer,” FASFC recall notice states. “The company asks its customers not to consume the product and to return it to the point of sale where it will be reimbursed.” The affected supplement, made by the UK’s Ultimate Sports Nutrition (USN), … Read the rest Posted 06 August 2019 USN and owner, Albe Geldenhuys, is suing Dr Harris Steinman alleging that Steinman had defamed them. Steinman had argued that, among other, they were scamming consumers with unsubstantiated claims for products. The Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa had ruled against claimes for their products numerous times, including multiple rulings against their ‘fat-burning’ supplement which Steinman called an unsubstantiated scam. Now the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) rules that claims made about the green tea extract contained in a weight management supplement are misleading and unsubstantiated… Read From the UK ASA ruling: USN (UK) provided a copy of a study on Phytofare®, which they believed supported the advertising claim. However, we understood that the study’s objective was to compare levels of different catechin profiles of Phytofare® with a generic green tea extract. Therefore, the study did not assess whether the green tea extract had the effects … Read the rest Posted 29 August 2018 Far too many protein supplements don’t live up to the claims on their labels and may be ineffective Times Select – Wendy Knowler 27 August 2018 Most of SA’s bestselling whey protein products don’t live up to the protein content claims on their labels, or meet the amino acid levels stipulated the by health department. The products (in powder form) are widely consumed by the sports and fitness community to help gain muscle and lose fat, and studies have shown they can be effective – but only if properly formulated. As part of his Masters research in the field of pharmacy, Durban pharmacist Kiolan Naidoo, along with Varsha Bangalee and Rowena Naidoo, had an accredited lab in Pretoria analyse 15 of SA’s top selling whey protein products. They wanted to find out if they matched the protein analysis on their labels and whether they complied with … Read the rest Posted 22 March 2018 Protein World’s Carb Blocker contains White kidney bean extract, Garcinia cambogia and Chromium picolinate. USN’s Carb Block contained White kidney bean extract. USN/Albe Geldenhuys are suing Dr Harris Steinman for R2 million alleging defamation, precipitated by Steinman stating that USN/Geldenhuys was scamming consumers by making false claims for USN Carb Blocker. Following the ASA ruling against the claims as well as the product name, USN simply changed the name of the product to USN Carb Binder and continued making essentially the same claims. USN no longer sells this product – but is still suing Steinman. Protein World’s Carb Blocker made essentially the same claims as USN did. Now the UK ASA has ruled against these claims as well as the name of the product. Sources:
UK ASA
NutraIngredients
… Read the rest Posted 27 November 2017 We have previously pointed out that USN, a company selling “sports supplements”, targets primary and high school children through it’s allied brand, SportsMax. The school selling the most sports supplements would get a free Bobby van Jaarsveld music concert. We made the point that this was unconscionable behaviour. A study has been published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behaviour, addressing the issue of why teenagers use supplements. A commentary in NutraIngredients.com, makes the following points: “Many adolescents use dietary supplements in an attempt to increase sports performance or improve immunity, finds a new study that also suggests supplements are frequently used despite a lack of knowledge about possible harmful effects” “According to the existing information, adolescents are the most susceptible and misinformed group of customers; thus this population is the target market for dietary supplements” (Lead researcher) Continue reading at NutraIngredients.com The … Read the rest Posted 16 October 2017 “Supplement companies have definitely mastered one thing- how to market & sell stupid supplements. Unfortunately, only a handful of supplements work and are worth your money. Most of them, sadly, only dig a hole in your pocket. Apart from a handful supplements, a ton of them that are being sold today in the name of hypertrophy are completely useless. If you are a beginner, or even an intermediate lifter, chances are that you don’t need a lot of supplements that you may just be using. Here are some of them. “ - Arginine
- Cla, L-Carnitine, Green Coffee Extract and Fat Burners
- Hydrolysed Whey Protein
Continue reading this article at MensXP … Read the rest Posted 30 June 2017 The Danish Food Administration has issued a warning on a range of sports and nutritional supplements sold on Swedish and Gibraltar registered website, as it says they contain substances that may affect the central nervous system. The Danish regulator has identified the presence of Tribulus terrestris L, Huperzin A, or the combination of caffeine and synefrin in some, which it says may affect the central nervous system, as well as cause other ill effects. Tribulus terrestris L, for instance, can also affect the liver, while Huperzin A can cause acute muscle tremors and incontinence, even in small doses. USN marketed a ‘testosterone booster’ products containing Tribulus terrestris, with claims that it could not support resulting in an adverse ASA ruling 1. and ASA ruling 2. USN is suing Dr Harris Steinman for defamation, following the latter’s contention that Albe Geldenhuys/USN are selling products with … Read the rest | |