Nutritech – The safe, professional match for Sharks Rugby

Nutrition is a key component to performing at one’s peak, and for a professional rugby team such as The Sharks, finding the right product is paramount. But there’s more to it than that, in the modern game it is critical that players don’t fall foul of strict anti-doping laws in terms of unknowingly ingesting banned performance enhancing substances.

“There were several considerations when going to market with this opportunity, including player preference, nutritionist recommendations and of course testing procedures that measured up the required safety standards. Nutritech have proven to be a perfect choice for The Hollywoodbets Sharks, as we’ve worked closely with the testing team in the UK, to ensure all parties are not just satisfied to use the product, but trust it completely too.” said Gillian Fraser (Dip ESA), Business Director from Flash Sponsorship

Meryl Naidoo, Hollywoodbets Sharks Sponsor and Commercial Liaison reiterated the importance. “It is of the utmost importance that we protect our players. We cannot partner with any brand, where we make product available to players to be used, without ensuring stringent testing and safety standards have been met. We need to be able to “hand on heart” say, we have done everything possible to ensure this is safe for you to use.”

We’ve all seen the myriad of options that exist for protein powders, recovery drinks, creatine, and weight-loss solutions to name a few. They also all come with more nutritional information than the average person is likely to fully comprehend, so how do you decide which is best for you, and falls within the recommended guidelines for your age, health status, sporting codes regulations, exercise goals etc.

And if you are a trainer, nutritionist, or coach, how do you recommend what is best for those in your care? Look at Grand Slam champ Simona Halep who was suspended in October 2022 after she tested positive for roxadustat – a banned drug that stimulates the production of red blood cells. Halep blamed contaminated supplements for her positive test. The Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep was cleared for an immediate return to tennis after sports’ highest court accepted, she was not entirely at fault for her positive doping test at the 2022 U.S. Open and after 9-months has been cleared to resume tennis.

We talk to Chris Walton from NUTRITECH® BRAND HOUSE , to find out a little more about the testing that is required in order for a professional sports team to ensure compliance from an anti-doping perspective, and to ensure that the same thing doesn’t happen to you!

What makes Nutritech products safe to use?

We own and operate our own manufacturing facility in Gqeberha, and control everything that happens within it. We do not manufacture any products that contain substances banned by regulatory bodies such as WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency), nor do we hold any such substances on our premises. Our facility has FDA, GMP,  HACCP, and FSSC 22000 certifications.

We also control the entire supply chain process. We only order quality raw materials from reputable and established suppliers. Once we receive the order of raw materials, we hold it in a staging area, while we test a sample from each batch on our spectrometer. The spectrometer will pick up any variation in quality and/or identify contaminants in the batch. Once we are happy that we have received high quality raws through this testing, we then release the raw material into our raw material store where it is held until pulled for manufacturing. If we are not happy, we will not release it into our raw material stores and will have it uplifted and sent back to the supplier.

Batch testing

There is currently no regulatory body or process in this regard, which is why we continue to manufacture in-house with our controlled process described above.

What constitutes a batch?

A batch is essentially the amount of product produced at one time. For example, let’s use our Premium Whey Protein Chocolate – a batch would be made up of the weighted out raw materials required to produce, so for example x amount of whey protein isolate, x amount of whey protein concentrate, x amount cocoa, x amount sea salt, and x amount sweetener.

This information is recorded on our production sheets, with the assigned raw material batch codes, this would make up a single batch of Nutritech Premium Whey Protein Chocolate and the assigned code for this batch would be printed onto each product in this batch’s lid. This allows us full traceability all the way back to each raw material supplier source and their respective batches.

Who tests your product?

There is no specialist company in South Africa. We test product batches at random to ensure the products meet label claims with Microchem Lab Services.

What are they testing for?

Traditionally testing is done for banned substances by WADA (World anti-doping agency). They are a regulatory body and do research and development and identify which products should be banned based on items that may be stimulants and should be regulated based on how much is being used. Some products do not get banned outright, but rather to what degree can it be in your system.

They test to ensure our protein, carbohydrate, and fat content is as per our label claims. We also test for other contaminants, such as melamine, etc.

How reliable is the testing of all products?

Our internal testing using our spectrometer is very accurate, as well as Microchem’s testing is extremely accurate, since they are a SANAS accredited laboratory.

Once tested and approved, what does this mean for the end-user/customer?

That the product they are trusting and choosing to spend their money on is safe to consume and is true to its claims. We are confident that our product is safe for use for athletes in SA. We manufacture it ourselves and follow stringent controls to ensure all safety protocols are adhered to. The fact that it remains in our control in our own factories mitigates the risk of contamination from other products.

How does testing impact the cost of the product?

Testing and raw materials affect the cost, especially when it comes to the fluctuations in exchange rates. Whey protein has also become a much sought-after product. The increase in demand has resulted in big increases over the last few years.

Where is your product made?

All our products are manufactured at our own manufacturing facility in Gqeberha. We are a proudly South African brand.

What assurances do you have for your customers?

We have always stood by a results-based assurance on our product efficacy. Our customers can achieve their desired results, whether it be performance, recovery, muscle gain or weight-loss, while our athletes are all able to perform at the highest levels in sport, achieving their desired performances and not testing positive for any banned substances. This has been the case since our establishment in 2011.

What are your top selling products in South Africa?

Our top selling products in South Africa are a mix of our NUKE pre-workout, PROVEN Protein, CREATECH creatine and HULK Gainer mass building shake.

1. Nuke has been a firm favorite on the South African pre-workout market and continues to perform exceptionally well as one of the industry’s leading energy and pre-workout supplements.

2. CreaTech Loaded is a high-performance creatine transport system, shuttling creatine to working muscles and helping your body replenish glycogen stores during or after an intense training session and has been a firm favorite not only for individuals who are aiming at putting on serious size, but also CrossFit and other sportsmen who are looking to fuel their performance and assist with recovery.

3. Proven Protein was launched in 2021 as a fusion protein, that is, it incorporates multiple protein sources for a fast, medium, and slow digestion, based on the latest scientific findings in order to optimize muscle recovery, growth and keep the user feeling fuller for longer. This led to a product that not only assists in anabolic muscle growth and recovery, but also works extremely well when it comes to weight-loss and reducing hunger and cravings.

4. Hulk Gainer is a high calorie mass building supplement, which has a cult following in the industry, and continues to do exceptionally well due to the bang for buck the customer receives. It is very versatile, allowing the user to use one scoop as a snack, two scoops as a meal replacement and three scoops to increase caloric intake as an anabolic muscle fuel.