Ripped Fuel manufacturer takes issue with A-Rod's comments

NEW YORK ISI Brands, manufacturer of Twinlab Ripped Fuel, took exception to comments made by Alex Rodriguez during the Major League Baseballer’s press conference on Feb. 17 around Rodriguez’s prior steroid use.

In response to whether or not Rodriguez experimented with anything else during the course of his career, Rodrgiuez said, “What I used to take a lot in, especially the Seattle days, was something called Ripped Fuel. Since, it has been banned from Major League Baseball, I believe, and also it has been removed from the shelves from GNC. I used to dabble with that some.”

“Twinlab Ripped Fuel does not now, nor has it ever, contained any steroids,” stated Mark Fox, president of ISI Brands, in a statement released Feb. 19. “We take the safety of all our products very seriously and the trust earned over 40 years of use by professional and aspiring athletes alike is a source of pride for our entire company and speaks to the consistent high performance of our formulas.”

ISI Brands purchased the Twinlab brand in December 2003. While prior to that time the previous owners manufactured certain Ripped Fuel products with ephedra, ISI has never manufactured, marketed or sold any product containing ephedra, the company stated. No Ripped Fuel product sold by ISI Brands today contains any ingredient that has been banned by the MLB, the company added.

GNC currently carries ISI Brands’ Ripped Fuel, contrary to Rodriguez’s statement.

The Food and Drug Administration first moved against the ingredient ephedra in December 2003, issuing a consumer alert against the use of ephedra and announcing that the agency would publish a rule banning sale of the ingredient in 2004.

Ephedra use also banned by The International Olympic Committee, National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association. Major League Baseball prohibits players with minor league contracts from taking the substance.