According to a DM article, contained in the participant information sheet were these gems:
‘UK Sport does not guarantee, promise, assure or represent that use of ketone esters is absolutely World Anti-Doping Code compliant and therefore excludes all responsibility for use of the ketone ester.’
‘WADA might exercise ... their rights to regulate … [and] collect blood samples or retrospectively test old samples. This may occur if there were pressure of the media if the concept was to leak. However … ketosis is a temporary physiological state and would be difficult to prove or test with any post-event samples.’
So basically UK Sport was telling the athetes that while all this was completely innocent and aboveboard, nothing to see, they still needed to sign a form stating that if WADA changed their rules, the athletes and not UK sport will be the ones taking the fall; but that NDA doesn't really matter, does it, seeing as they'll never prove that you took it. Don't you want to win a medal in the home Olympics? JUST NEVER EVER TELL ANYBODY ABOUT THIS!
If this was considered just a legal but expensive energy drink at the time, why would they put language like this in the form? Because UK Sport could not know if this would be considered doping or not in the future.
I have to say, I never believed in the conspiracy theories about EPO being available to some countries' athletes through "research trials" before its commercial availability - it seemed too far-fetched. But the mindset of UK sport that is getting exposed now makes me wonder: was this really the first time stuff like this has happened, and if so, were the previous times always with a substance that was eventually approved for use by athletes?