Male Enhancement Pills Recalled for Actually Enhancing Male Performance
In one of the more counterintuitive product recalls we've seen, a dietary supplement that promises to enhance male sexual performance is being recalled for containing a drug that enhances male sexual performance.
New Jersey-based Freedom Trading announced last week that it was issuing a voluntary recall of Super Power, an "all-natural herbal extract" that promises enhanced libido and a "powerful erection," among other benefits. Independent laboratory tests determined that the pills contained small amounts of an ingredient not listed on the label: Sildenafil, the generic name of the drug best known as Viagra.
That's a problem for a couple of reasons. Sildenafil has its share of side effects, as anyone who has ever watched a Viagra commercial knows. Most critically, patients who take nitrates for chest pain or heart disease could experience a drop in blood pressure if they take Sildenafil -- a risk that those patients won't know they're taking if it's not on the label. Fortunately, the company says it hasn't received any reports of adverse effects from taking the supplement.
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But it isn't just a labeling issue: As a dietary supplement, Super Power simply isn't allowed to have any actual drugs in it. As an FDA spokesperson explained, dietary supplements aren't regulated in the same way that pharmaceuticals are, and supplement companies don't need to get FDA approval before marketing and selling their wares in the U.S. Such products can be easily identified by the standard disclaimer they are all required to make: that they are "not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease" and that their health claims haven't been evaluated by the FDA.
Super Power clearly falls into that dietary supplement category. Super Power's list of ingredients includes a bunch of Asian herbs like "semen ziziphi spinosae" and "cortex cinnamomi cassaie" -- none of which, as far as we can tell, have ever been proven to have any impact on male sexual performance. And that would have been fine if those were the only ingredients in the pills: Since the FDA isn't evaluating the claims, the company is free to throw in any combination of herbs it wants to, and then claim that they'll improve your sex life (or help you "ride through the night," as the label declares). Freedom Trading's only mistake was including a pharmaceutical ingredient that actually delivers on those claims.
The recalled pills were sold between August 2012 and January 2013, and can be returned at the point of purchase, or directly to the company. For details, call Freedom Trading at (866) 780-6474 during normal business hours.
Matt Brownell is the consumer and retail reporter for DailyFinance. You can reach him at Matt.Brownell@teamaol.com, and follow him on Twitter at @Brownellorama.
