The flagged products – some of which are being voluntarily recalled – are sold online under names including 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 advises consumers not to buy the chocolates because they contain sildenafil and tadalafil, the lively ingredients in Viagra and Cialis, respectively. They work by relaxing blood vessels and increasing blood flow to the penis. One of the products, Pink Pussycat Afrodisiac Chocolate, is intended for women. (The FDA has not approved Viagra or Cialis for women.)
“FDA approval of Viagra and Cialis is limited to use under the supervision of a licensed health care professional,” the agency says. The FDA warns that these ingredients may interact with nitrates found in some prescription drugs, such as nitroglycerin, and may lower blood pressure to unsafe levels. According to the FDA, those most at risk from these products are adult men who apply nitrates to treat heart disease.
Some chocolate distributors, including: Nalpac AND Hardware Islandvoluntarily recall products. The FDA notice states that Nalpac is not the manufacturer of these products. On its website, Gear Isle states that it does not have a manufacturing department and does not manufacture any of the products it sells.
The FDA says consumers and retailers carrying the recalled products should stop using or selling the products and return them to the place of purchase or discard them immediately.
Several honey products have also been found to contain sildenafil and tadalafil. Pure Vitamins and Natural Supplements of Tampa is recalling single-use plastic tubes under the names Boner Bear Honey, Red Bull Extreme and Blue Bull Extreme. The company claims it was not a honey producer. Earlier this year, Virginia-based Akkarco announced a recall of jarred honey sold as Ashfiat Alharamain Energy Support because it contained undeclared tadalafil.
Typically, food recalls occur because they contain undeclared allergens or cause an outbreak of foodborne pathogens. Before this year, there was only one prior recall on the FDA website for a food product containing the undisclosed sildenafil or tadalafil, called Kingdom Honey, which was recalled in 2022. Since 2018, there have been several prior recalls for supplements containing these ingredients.
No side effects have been reported to the FDA, but on the other hand, it may be because the chocolate meets advertising requirements.