FDA Issues 'Surprising Series of Alerts' on Sex-Themed Sweets

Sweets billed as bedroom boosters are getting pulled from shelves for their eyebrow-raising potency. Wired notes a "surprising series of alerts" from the Food and Drug Administration over multiple "sexual enhancement" chocolates and honeys—sold under such names as DTF Sexual Chocolate, Rhino Choco VIP, Pink Pussycat Aphrodisiac Chocolate, Boner Bears Honey, and Red Bull Extreme—that contain undeclared sildenafil or tadalafil, the active ingredients in prescription erectile-dysfunction drugs Viagra and Cialis, respectively. Some of the products are marketed as "all natural" or herbal and are being voluntarily recalled by distributors who say they didn't manufacture them.

The FDA warns that the ingredients in Viagra and Cialis could interact with other prescriptions and cause blood pressure to drop to dangerous levels, especially in people using nitrate drugs for heart conditions, which is why Viagra and Cialis are meant to be taken only under medical supervision. Consumers and retailers are urged to stop using or selling the listed products, and to return or trash them. While food recalls typically involve allergens or pathogens, undeclared erectile-dysfunction drugs in foods have been rare; before this year, the FDA had logged just one such recall. No injuries have been reported so far, per the agency.