The South African Institute for Drug Free Sport said on Thursday a doping control laboratory at the University of the Free State picked up testosterone in the product. Biogen denied Testoforte had testosterone, but said it was sending samples to a UK lab as a "precautionary measure".
Testoforte's contamination was discovered by its ambassador, Angolan Demarte Pena, a mixed martial arts fighter who was given the product for free by Biogen and who then tested positive for steroid use. Even schoolboy rugby players in South Africa are tested for banned steroids, meaning using this product could land top teen rugby players in trouble.
But Biogen's defence is that athletes should not use its general products, but only its "Informed Choice" products. Biogen promotes itself as a sports brand with slogans such "muscle motivator", "endless endurance" and "refreshing recovery".
The company sponsors cycle, race and mountain bike clubs in the country. It was also a sponsor of 2013 Comrades Marathon winner Claude Moshiywa.
Biogen said: "Testoforte is not a sports supplement and does not form part of Biogen's sports supplement range. It should be noted that this is a complex herbal product and is designed to support healthy, natural testosterone levels.
"We believe all competitive athletes should use only Informed Sport and Informed Choice tested sports products and avoid complex botanicals," it said.
"To this end we have made every effort to inform tested athletes of the potential risks when using complex botanicals via our website, on in-store signage, as well as within warnings on product labels."
Dischem, which stocks the product, said the herbal ingredients might have created traces of testosterone.
Source: The Times
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