In the Netherlands, the possible contamination of supplements was proven by a study performed in 2001 (Schilt et al., 2002). This led a joint effort by several partners to give Dutch athletes the option of using dietary supplements when these are deemed appropriate, and to provide the athletes with the maximum safeguards to ensure they can use supplements that do not contain prohibited substances. This project is the “Dutch Safeguards System for Dietary Supplements in Elite Sport”, or “NZVT” (the acronym in Dutch). The NZVT was established to provide athletes with as much assurance as possible that the supplements they wish to take do not contain prohibited substances that are not on the label. All athletes are, and remain, strictly liable for all substances in their bodies. The NZVT approach and its accompanying database are information services for athletes that help them find dietary supplements and minimise the risk of using supplements contaminated with prohibited substances. The NZVT partners are not responsible for the products listed in the NZVT database. The NZVT is a joint effort involving the Netherlands Olympic Committee * Netherlands Sports Confederation (NOCNSF), the trade organisation for supplement producers and providers in the Netherlands (NPN), and the Anti-Doping Authority Netherlands (the “Doping Authority”), in close cooperation with the NOCNSF Athletes’ Committee, the Institute of Food Safety of Wageningen University and Research Centre (RIKILT), and the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Sports (VWS).

EFSA is a European agency funded by the European Union that operates independently of the European legislative and executive institutions (Commission, Council, Parliament) and EU Member States. It was set up in 2002 following a series of food crises in the late 1990s to be a source of scientific advice and communication on risks associated with the food chain. The agency was legally established by the EU under the General Food Law – Regulation 178/2002. The General Food Law created a European food safety system in which responsibility for risk assessment (science) and for risk management (policy) are kept separate. EFSA is responsible for the former area, and also has a duty to communicate its scientific findings to the public.