Supplement Godfather

Q. I went on vacation to Australia last month and brought some of my supplements with me. But when I got to customs, they inspected my carry-on bag and freaked! They actually confiscated my fat burner and wouldn’t let me bring it into the country! All they said was, “It’s not legal here.” I asked what wasn’t legal, but they were pricks and just said I had to leave it with them. What’s up with that?

A. I’m actually not surprised! Australia has very strict regulations when it comes to dietary supplements. Just like we have the Natural Health Product Directorate (NHPD) here in Canada, in Australia they have what’s called the Therapeutic Goods Act (TGA for short), and it’s rigorously enforced by Australian authorities! I’ll bet that your fat burner probably had a nice dose of caffeine in it, and I’m guessing it was synthetic caffeine too. Synthetic caffeine isn’t allowed in certain types of supplements in Australia. Now, this is the part that makes no sense to me. Synthetic caffeine isn’t allowed in capsule or tablet products, but as soon as you put it into a powder form (e.g., pre-workout powder), the product falls under a different regulating category, and in this form it can include synthetic caffeine. It makes no sense to me, and I have yet to be given an explanation that makes any sense! Anyhow, next time you head to Australia, bring a potent preworkout powder as you’ll have a much better chance of getting it into the country.

To answer the second part of your question, yes, every country does have its own laws and regulations when it comes to supplements. For instance, right next door to Australia is New Zealand, and it has some of the most laid-back supplement regulations in the world. My company, PharmaFreak, regularly exports supplements to New Zealand, and I’m amazed that absolutely no paperwork or documentation is required to get the products into the country when most countries want certificates of analysis (CoAs), certificates of free sale and origin, and a bunch of other declarations just to get the products through customs.

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