doping kits
© Arnd Wiegmann / Reuters
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has launched an investigation into a "potential integrity issue" relating to its drug-testing bottles after a German lab complained that they could be manually opened if frozen.

The WADA-accredited laboratory in Cologne, Germany informed the agency on January 19 that the latest 'BEREG-KIT Geneva' drug-testing bottles, which were introduced last September, "may potentially be susceptible to manual opening 'upon freezing' of a sample.'"

Swiss technology company Berlinger Special AG, a manufacturer of the BEREG-KIT Geneva security bottles, was asked by WADA to clarify the issue and conduct additional tests to ensure the integrity of the kits, the agency confirmed on Sunday.

"On January 27, Berlinger advised WADA that, acting on the protocol received from the Cologne laboratory, they carried out tests on the BEREG-KIT Geneva and were unable to replicate the issue when the security bottles were handled per the product's instructions for use," WADA said in a statement published on its website.

Blood or urine samples given by an athlete at doping control is divided into two bottles, labelled with the letters 'A' and 'B.' Both samples are sealed by an athlete and checked by a doping control officer before being sent to a WADA-approved laboratory where they are analyzed and stored.

If the 'A' sample reveals the presence of a prohibited substance, the frozen 'B' sample is opened to confirm a potential doping violation. Athletes are allowed to be present at the re-analysis of their 'B' sample.

The information provided by the German-based laboratory has raised serious concerns over whether doping probes can be tampered with if the bottles are easily opened.

WADA has acknowledged that the issue, if confirmed, will cause major concern but that, as a manufacturer of security bottles, Berlinger AG is "responsible for the development, testing, distribution and monitoring of the equipment they produce and provide to clients."


Comment: WADA is ultimately responsible for any problems with the testing process. They can't blame a third-party or subsidiary and act like they are free from blame. Maybe they should have tested the security bottles and made absolutely sure that they were working properly. That's what a competent organization would do. Clearly WADA is both incompetent and willing to pass the buck on who is at fault.


In August 2017, Berlinger announced the production of the new doping kits, which the company planned to produce entirely within Switzerland and to the highest quality standard.

The bottles, which were aimed to eradicate potential manipulations with doping probes, were rigorously examined and underwent extensive internal tests before being approved for high-volume production.

The newly-produced Berlinger bottles were certified "tamper-evident," meaning that all doping samples which have been counterfeited or tampered with could be easily detected.

However, if the information provided by the Cologne laboratory is confirmed, Berlinger's credibility would be undermined, as their bottles' defects could potentially lead to numerous cases of doping tampering, instead of preventing them.

Earlier, it was reported that the sample bottles produced by the same Swiss company had a tendency to break when opened.