If you’ve recently bought some “sexy time” chocolate online keep reading…
A Northern California adult novelty retailer is recalling two chocolate products after lab testing found them secretly loaded with the active ingredients in Viagra and Cialis, neither of which was listed anywhere on the label.
Gear Isle, based in the San Francisco Bay Area and operating out of West Sacramento, recently announced the voluntary nationwide recall. The two products are the Gold Lion Aphrodisiac Chocolate Male Enhancement Sachet and the ilum Sex Chocolate Male Sexual Enhancement Booster, both sold through the company’s website. Gear Isle doesn’t manufacture the products itself, just sells them.
The undisclosed ingredients are sildenafil and tadalafil, the prescription compounds behind Viagra and Cialis. That’s a problem that goes beyond the obvious labeling issue, because both drugs can interact badly with nitrate medications commonly prescribed for heart conditions, and the combination can cause blood pressure to drop suddenly and severely. The FDA’s language on this is not subtle: it called the potential drop “life-threatening.” The population most at risk is adult men taking nitrates for cardiac conditions, who’d have no way of knowing what they were actually consuming.
The FDA actually flagged the ilum Sex Chocolate back in February, before the recall, after confirming it contained tadalafil. The full recall covering both products came weeks later.
Gear Isle said it has received no reports of adverse reactions so far. The company is notifying customers directly and coordinating returns and refunds. Consumers can reach Gear Isle customer service at 888-387-4753 or info@gearisle.com, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. PST.
This isn’t an isolated situation. The recall follows a similar action earlier this month involving a New Mexico company, Primal Supplements Group, which pulled its “Volume” sexual enhancement product after the FDA also found sildenafil in it. The FDA has warned broadly that products marketed as dietary supplements for sexual enhancement, weight loss and pain relief frequently contain hidden prescription drug ingredients, and that it cannot possibly test everything on the market claiming to be a supplement.
Anyone who’s used either product and is experiencing dizziness, fainting, or other symptoms should contact a doctor.
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