GoFundMe to Get Popular Gels Tested

Brady Burgess and Johanna Ohm  professionally employed scientists with education in biology and biochemistry launched a GoFundMe to get after the truth on energy gel labels:

While Spring Energy has been called out on social media, published studies examining other sports nutrition products find that mislabeling is common. FDA rules allow nutritional labels to be approximated using imprecise and easily manipulated methods and do not require experimental verification. We believe sports nutrition companies should hold themselves to a higher standard than those of nutrition labels, which do not guarantee the accuracy required by athletes.

The goal is to test several gels and get to the “truth” in response to several people having reported on Reddit that Spring Energy’s Awesome Sauce in particular doesn’t hold up it’s claim to be “that awesome:

Is this just Spring Energy, just Awesome Sauce, or is it rampant? It not Awesome Sauce, what else should I use?

The results from this will be fascinating, and I foresee very sobering for many, companies and consumers/runners alike. In almost every other area of our gear purchases we accept the over-promises the companies make. Do shoes last 500 miles? Do socks last a year? But with nutrition we’re more calculated and accurate and rightfully so. Companies, and marketing departments in particular should take note.