Cologne List vs Informed Sport: What Banned-Substance Testing Really Means

If you race, get drug tested, or simply want to know what is in your supplements, you will come across two names: Cologne List and Informed Sport. Both reduce the risk of banned substances in supplements, but they work differently. This guide explains both honestly, including where RunnerVits sits.

Why testing matters at all

Supplements can be contaminated with substances banned in sport, usually through cross-contamination in factories that also make other products. Under anti-doping rules, athletes are responsible for anything found in their system, whatever the source. Third-party testing does not remove that responsibility, but it significantly reduces the risk.

What is the Cologne List?

The Cologne List (Kölner Liste) is an international programme that publishes supplements tested by the Center for Preventive Doping Research at the German Sport University Cologne. To be listed, a product has to pass a label check and a laboratory analysis focused on anabolic steroids and stimulants, the substances most often found in contaminated supplements, at least once a year.

Key points:

• Results apply to the specific batch that was tested, and batch numbers or best-before dates are published alongside them.
• The Cologne List is clear that no laboratory can test for every banned substance, so a listing means a significantly reduced risk rather than a guarantee.
• You can search listed products in the Cologne List product database.

What is Informed Sport?

Informed Sport is a certification programme run by LGC, a UK anti-doping laboratory. Its defining feature is that, once certified, every batch of a product must be tested before it is released for sale. The programme also includes a review of manufacturing procedures and ongoing blind testing, where products are bought from retail and tested again. Certified batches are searchable on its website.

Cologne List vs Informed Sport: the differences

• Batch coverage: Informed Sport tests every batch before release. Cologne List tests specific batches, at least annually, and publishes which ones.
• Manufacturing review: Informed Sport includes an assessment of manufacturing procedures as part of certification. Cologne List publishes information the company provides about its quality management.
• Scope of analysis: both use accredited anti-doping laboratories. Cologne List's analysis focuses on steroids and stimulants; Informed Sport screens a broad range of prohibited substances.
• Where you see them: Informed Sport is especially common in the UK; Cologne List is widely used across Europe and is integrated into Germany's national anti-doping app.

In short, Informed Sport is the more comprehensive programme. Cologne List is a credible, independent test and a big step up from no testing at all.

Where RunnerVits stands

We will be clear, because it matters: all RunnerVits products are independently Cologne List® tested. We are not currently Informed Sport certified. For recreational runners and most club athletes, Cologne List testing means our products have been independently checked for the most common banned-substance contaminants. If you are in a testing pool, you should check batch details and make your own decision, as with any supplement.

How tested athletes should check a supplement

1. Find the product in the Cologne List or Informed Sport database.
2. Match the batch number or best-before date on your pack to a tested batch.
3. Keep the packaging and a record of the batch you used.
4. Take advice from your governing body or anti-doping organisation if you are unsure.

What testing does not tell you

Banned-substance testing is about what should not be in a product. It does not prove what a product does. For that, look at the dose of each ingredient and whether its claims use authorised wording from the GB nutrition and health claims register. Our guide to supplements for runners covers how to judge that.

FAQs

Is Cologne List as good as Informed Sport?

Both are credible. Informed Sport tests every batch before release, which makes it more comprehensive. Cologne List tests specific batches at least annually.

Are RunnerVits products safe for drug-tested athletes?

They are Cologne List® tested, which significantly reduces risk. No programme can guarantee a product is free of all banned substances, so tested athletes should always check batch details.

Which RunnerVits products are tested?

The full range, including the Marathon Race Ready Bundle products: Morning Runner Essentials, Pre-Race Performance, Runner Joint Support and Runner Sleep & Recovery.