The US Food and Drug Administration regularly announces recalls. But it has recently issued a surprising series of alerts: Several brands of chocolate marketed for “sexual enhancement” contain undisclosed drugs prescribed for erectile dysfunction, according to lab analyses conducted by the agency.
The flagged products—some of which are being voluntarily recalled—are sold online under names like Boner Bears Chocolate, DTF Sexual Chocolate, Lovion Chocolate With Ginseng for Men, and Rhino Choco VIP. Some are labeled “all natural” or claim to contain herbal ingredients such as pau de cabinda powder, which is used as a libido enhancer.
The FDA is advising consumers not to purchase the chocolates, because they contain sildenafil and tadalafil, the active ingredients in Viagra and Cialis, respectively. They work by relaxing blood vessels and boosting blood flow to the penis. One of the products, Pink Pussycat Aphrodisiac Chocolate, is marketed to women. (The FDA hasn’t approved Viagra or Cialis for women.)
“FDA approval of Viagra and Cialis is restricted to use under the supervision of a licensed health care professional,” according to the agency. The FDA warns that these ingredients may interact with nitrates found in some prescription drugs, such as nitroglycerin, and may lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. Adult men who use nitrates for cardiac conditions are most at risk from these products, the FDA says.
Some distributors of the chocolates, including Nalpac and Gear Isle, are voluntarily recalling the products. An FDA notice says Nalpac is not the manufacturer of these products. On its website, Gear Isle says it does not have a manufacturing arm and does not make any of the products it sells.
The FDA says that consumers and retailers that have the recalled products should stop using or selling products and return them to the place of purchase or discard them immediately.
Several honey products were also found to contain sildenafil and tadalafil. Pure Vitamins and Natural Supplements of Tampa is recalling single-serve plastic tubes under the names Boner Bear Honey, Red Bull Extreme, and Blue Bull Extreme. The company says it did not manufacture the honey. Earlier this year, Akkarco of Virginia announced a recall of honey in a jar sold as Ashfiat Alharamain Energy Support because it contained undeclared tadalafil.
Usually, food recalls happen because they contain undeclared allergens or cause outbreaks of foodborne pathogens. Before this year, there was only one prior recall on the FDA’s website for a food product containing undisclosed sildenafil or tadalafil, called Kingdom Honey, which was recalled in 2022. There have been several prior recalls of supplements containing these ingredients dating back to 2018.
No adverse reactions have been reported to the FDA, but then again, it might be because the chocolate is living up to its advertising claims.