A long held defense claimed by some cyclists testing positive for banned performance enhancing substances is that contaminated or tainted meat is the culprit.

Now, that defense, successfully used by cyclist Carl Grove, will likely not work anymore in the USA.

A just released scientific study by scientists at the United States Anti-Doping Agency, Texas Tech University and University of California Los Angles Olympic Testing Lab found no banned substances in USA meat that could trigger positive doping results.

A year-long study of grocery store meat randomly purchased in Atlanta, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Lubbock, San Antonio, Seattle, and West Lafayette tested for 13 substances, including legal animal growth additives and banned performance-enhancing drugs.

Test results showed no evidence of substances on the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List, including Clenbuterol, Stanozolol, or selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) in the test samples – chicken, beef or pork.

“The findings suggest that positive tests resulting from meat consumption are highly unlikely when consumed in amounts consistent with typical daily diets,” according to the study.

Adding, “The argument that professional athletes’ positive drug tests result from meat contamination with anabolic agents not used in livestock production lacks scientific support. Strict regulations and surveillance effectively mitigate the risk of such contamination.”

The full study, “Surveillance of Anabolic Agent Residues in U.S. Meat Supply by Liquid Chromatography with High-Resolution Tandem Mass Spectrometry,” by Cade Snethen et al can be found in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis.

Photo Credit: USA FDA

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