TORQ's Anti-Doping Policy

TORQ has a very strict Anti-Doping stance and we guarantee the purity of our products. As you begin to understand our philosophies, you will learn that we always source the most natural of ingredients and have made it our mission to produce the finest, most technologically advanced Sports Nutrition range in the world without resorting to the use of artificial/chemical additives. We can think of no artificial ingredient capable of enhancing sporting performance that isn't listed on the WADF banned substances list. In fact, we are firmly of the conviction that artificial/chemical substances like sweeteners, colours and artificial flavours are likely to oppose successful sporting performance, which gives all the more reason to steer well clear of them.

Fairly Traded and Organic Ingredients

All of our TORQ bars contain a very high percentage of Fairly Traded fruit and we are the producers of the first ever Organic powdered energy drink with full Soil Association Certification. We are also developing two new products in 2008, both of which are Fairly Traded and 100% Organic. This is our current stance and TORQ will continue to evolve in a way that we perceive our customers are comfortable with.

Testing for Prohibited Substances

One would think that with our commitment to purity, that it wouldn't be necessary for us to test our products for the presence of substances listed on the WADF 'banned' list? You'd be right. We don't think its necessary either, but there's one sticking point. It is illegal for us to state to our customers that our products are 'Guaranteed Drug-Free' unless we test them for the presence of these substances.

Testing for prohibited substances is not an inexpensive process, but we feel it is necessary to provide professional athletes with the assurance and confidence they need in such an uncertain world. A few years ago, many sports supplement brands were tested independently and an alarming number were found to contain traces of substances that could give rise to a positive dope test. We want to make absolutely sure that this accusation will NEVER be levelled at us.

Just to put this issue into perspective though. When you're sitting down eating your breakfast cereal in the morning, do you worry that your food may contain banned prohibited substances? We're pretty sure it wouldn't cross your mind, but by taking the stance that we do, we can offer an unparalleled level of purity assurance, simply because we have a testing regimen in place for our products. Standard food products and ingredients you purchase from a supermarket do not test for banned substances.

Testing Procedure

TORQ products are random-tested under ISO17025 by an independent laboratory. With the exception of the TORQ bar, all of our product classes are produced from the same batch of ingredients. For instance, all of our energy drinks are made from the same batch. The only differential is the Natural Flavour, which defines how they taste. The same goes for our Recovery Drinks and Gels. We test one flavour from each product class and believe that this accurately represents the entire batch of four flavours for that product. For instance, we produce four different flavours of TORQ energy from one batch and then we send one of the flavours to the lab for testing. With TORQ recovery, we produce two flavours from one batch and again send off one flavour for testing. Unless a contaminant is contained within the natural fruit extract used to flavour the product, we are confident that if one flavour passes the test, the others are clear too. In most cases, the natural flavour represents about 2% of the product, so is a very small component of the ingredient matrix.

If we were to pool all of the flavours in a product class and test them as a whole, the sensitivity of the test would be lost and therefore our guarantee would be worth less. If we tested all flavours separately, the cost would be prohibitive and the average person on the street would be discouraged from buying our products due to high prices. We believe that we have struck the perfect balance between having a committed anti-doping stance and being 'sensible'. We realise that everyone who purchases our products wants assurance of purity, but also understand that not everyone wants to pay for product testing when it potentially only benefits an absolute minority of the population (athletes who undergo dope testing). We can therefore offer the following assurances:

1) If you are purchasing TORQ products, we can assure you that one flavour of every batch of a class of products has been tested. In other words, one flavour of TORQ energy will have been tested when we produce a batch of four flavours together. Also, one flavour of TORQ gel will have been tested when we produce a batch of 4 flavours together and one flavour of TORQ recovery will have been tested when we produce a batch of 2 flavours together.

2) If you are an elite athlete or are concerned that you may undergo testing for prohibited substances, please use TORQ products with confidence. If you need absolute assurance that you are using a product that has been tested and therefore carries a 100% guarantee of being free from any banned substances, please contact us and we will send you product from the tested batch. Flavour choice will be limited, but we will ensure that you receive the correct batch.

3) TORQ bars: Although many of the ingredients that constitute TORQ bars are from the same batch, approximately 12% of the ingredients are not common to all. This simply constitutes the fairly traded fruit that determines the flavour. As unlikely as it is that this could be a source of contamination, it does constitute quite a significant differential between the bars. Once again, cost prohibits us from testing every flavour of bar, but TORQ always holds at least one batch of bars that has been tested. These are usually the Banana or Pineapple and Ginger bars. Once again, we feel that this random testing is sufficient to offer purity assurance for our full range of bars, but if you are an athlete wanting absolute assurance that your product has been tested, please contact us directly and we will supply you with 'tested' product.

Below is a list of the prohibited substances that we test for:

<span style='font-size: 12px;'>Substances Tested</span>

Questions?

If you have any questions at all about our testing program, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us.

Phone: 0044 (0)845 128 4312
E-Mail: enquiries@torq.ltd.uk

Further Information

For information on the laboratory we use to test our products, please visit www.supplementaware.com

Most Recently Tested Products

See below for the listings of our most recently tested products...

TORQ energy

TORQ energy (Natural Lime & Lemon)
Test Date: 9/11/09
Batch: 4466
Lab Ref: 434176

PASSED

TORQ bar

TORQ bar 2 (Sundried Banana)
Test Date: 9/11/09
Batch: 02012011
Lab Ref: 434175

PASSED

TORQ gel

TORQ gel (Strawberry Yoghurt)
Test Date: 9/11/09
Batch: 2720936
Lab Ref: 434174

PASSED

TORQ recovery

TORQ recovery (Strawberries & Cream)
Test Date: 9/11/09
Batch: 4463
Lab Ref: 434177

PASSED