Withdrawal from trading of selected batches of creatine

In recent days, we received information regarding a potential quality defect in one of the batches of creatine manufactured on our behalf by an external supplier. We immediately initiated explanatory procedures; among other things, the quality certificates presented by the creatine supplier, certifying that the raw material had been tested and was free of any defects, were verified. However, laboratory tests conducted by Sanepid confirmed that the permissible heavy metal (mercury) standards for dietary supplements were exceeded in several batches of our creatine.

As a result of our findings, it was established that the contamination was caused by the manufacturer's use of a defective raw material (creatine monohydrate). The raw material proved to be defective, despite holding a certificate attesting that the substance was of full value and uncontaminated.

The product batches identified by Sanepid were immediately withdrawn from sale and are no longer available in our stores.

Simultaneously, we are conducting a product recall campaign – we kindly request all Customers who have our creatine products at home to check the product name, batch number, and expiry date.

The recall covers the following product batches:

If you possess a product listed in the table above, please return it to the place of purchase or any SFD retail store (no receipt required). You will receive a refund for the purchase.

We have launched a dedicated helpline for our Customers. In case of any questions related to the recall, our consultants are at your disposal from Monday to Friday, between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM, at the phone number +48 77 544 60 96

We sincerely apologize to everyone for the inconvenience.

The recall campaign applies exclusively to the products indicated above.

The safety of our Customers is our absolute priority. Therefore, in addition to the immediate suspension of cooperation with the supplier until the matter is fully resolved and openly informing Customers about it, we have simultaneously decided on the immediate market recall of not only the non-compliant products, but also on a voluntary, preventive suspension of sales of all products in the creatine category (originating from this and other manufacturers), whose samples are currently being tested in accredited laboratories.

At present, only creatine products that we are 100% certain are fully safe and meet all quality standards are available in our stores. Individual batches will be successively restored to sale once we receive test results from an independent laboratory confirming 100% safety and high product quality. The test results will be available to our customers on sfd.pl on the landing pages of the respective products.

We treat this matter with the utmost seriousness – we have never encountered such an incident before. We are determined to clarify all circumstances as quickly as possible and effectively recall the defective products, as well as implement measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

We feel responsible not only for this situation, but also, as one of the market leaders, for the entire dietary supplement industry. Our products are regularly tested – in 2022 alone, we carried out nearly 600 tests for the presence of various substances in approximately 250 finished products. In addition, every batch of raw materials used in production must have appropriate certificates permitting their use in production. The situation that arose was, in this case, completely independent of us (the manufacturer's use of a certified raw material that proved to be non-compliant).

In light of these circumstances, we have taken an urgent decision to review and strengthen our supplier audit procedures, and to double the budget allocated for independent quality testing of our products. Under our ongoing collaboration with an independent laboratory, we will conduct these tests on a broader scale and publish their results on our websites. Simultaneously, as the market leader in the dietary supplement category in Poland, we are establishing a new, higher standard of quality control by enrolling our products in the Independent Laboratory Testing Program, where we will submit our products to audits by the "Badamy Suplementy" Foundation, allocating funds for independent quality testing.

This matter currently holds our highest priority, and we will do everything in our power to eliminate the risk of similar situations in the future. Once again, we apologize sincerely for any inconvenience caused.