New Delhi A para-athlete who tested positive for a prohibited substance has blamed a contaminated supplement bearing “mark” of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for her failed test. Rajni Jha, a para-canoe sportsperson, tested positive for methyltestosterone — a non-specified prohibited substance — in an out-of-competition test on March 30 in Bhopal.
In her doping control form, she disclosed the consumption of whey protein Nitro 100 and other food supplements. Interestingly, the left-over supplements and sealed packs of the same batch when tested at the National Doping Test Laboratory on her request, showed presence of the prohibited substance – methyltestosterone which was found in the sample collected from her, as per NDTL’s nutritional supplement report of July 19.
NADA and FSSAI have a collaboration to ensure ‘safety of dietary supplements’, which Rajni cited in her defence. “The mark gave comfort and trust that the product ‘Nitro Whey 100’ (which was found contaminated) was safe and dope free,” she told the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP).
Her counsel Parth Goswami argued that since the whey protein box was “FSSAI approved”, the athlete has no reason to doubt the authenticity of the product.
Though ADDP ruled that the athlete has not consumed the prohibited substance “intentionally” and it entered her body through the contaminated substance, she was “negligent.” She was banned for 12 months.
“The athlete should have exercised care and caution of consulting a doctor or sports nutritionist before buying and consuming food supplements,” said the panel.
“Has the athlete made any research as to whether the product she was buying was actually FSSAI approved or a fake logo is mentioned on the box? There is no material on record to show that such kind of research was ever done by the athlete,” according to the order issued on August 3.”
“WADA never recommends consumption of these nutritional supplements; rather it has been issuing warnings to the athletes against their use. According to WADA, the Athletes consume such nutritional supplements at their own risk and they will be responsible for a positive dope test,” said the panel.
The panel’s decision was also upheld by the Anti-Doping Appeal’s panel in an urgent hearing.
Rajni was crushed as she would not be able to compete at the Paris Paralympics starting Wednesday. She also tested negative in a test done after her ‘positive’ test, in May, but that was not enough.
In 2019, NADA entered into a collaboration with FSSAI. FSSAI earmarks the Food for Special Dietary Use (FSDU) logo to be used by manufactures so that sportspersons may identify this logo in the bottle/container.
“As an athlete, the precautions you take while buying is to see a govt approved mark (FSSAI), buy from a well-known store, and read the label, and the products, and at the most do an internet search. If the substance is contaminated, whose fault is this? Nobody provided me with that answer. I lost my dream of competing at the Paralympics,” 34-year-old Rajni told HT.
“I have attended NADA’s educational programme. They tell us about medicines. We have never been told about the FSDU mark. I was told about this in the panel. When I checked for FSDU marks, I found only one company’s supplement on the internet and it is also not available everywhere. And how will an athlete identify which is right or which is wrong or duplicate?”
“Many athletes are taking FSSAI-marked supplements. When there is a collaboration with FSSAI, why is NADA not asking them about contaminated substances?”