Now How Did Viagra Get in This Honey?

In case you haven’t heard, (often dubious) libido-boosting substances are all the rage at the moment. From gummies and supplements to horny sodas and sex chocolate, supposedly natural, drug-free answers to all your “I would like to be horny right now” needs have taken over the sexual wellness space in recent years. Meanwhile, it turns out some people may have been unknowingly getting some very much not-drug-free libido boosting from an unsuspecting source: honey.

According to Insider, the FDA has recently issued a warning to four companies after their honey (and “honey-based products,” which I suppose is already kind of a red flag) revealed traces of Cialis and Viagra in lab tests. These drugs were reportedly not included on the products’ ingredients lists. Naturally, allowing people to unintentionally consume prescription drugs meant to treat erectile dysfunction is a problem for a number of reasons. As the FDA noted, these drugs can be dangerous when mixed with other medications, and they’re meant to be taken only under medical supervision for a reason.

Fortunately, you probably haven’t been unknowingly taking Viagra with your morning toast if you’re buying honey at your local grocery store. According to Insider, the companies that received warnings are are US Royal Honey, MKS Enterprise, Shopaax.com and 1am USA Incorporated dba Pleasure Products USA. If these sound unfamiliar, that’s because they’re not standard retailers whose products you’re likely to encounter on your weekly grocery run. In fact, most of these companies, from what I can tell, were marketing their honey as libido-boosting, “male-enhancement” or otherwise vaguely wellness-adjacent products. (Per Insider: “US Royal Honey sells sachets of infused honey that the company claims can boost “vitality and stamina.”) The problem is, they weren’t disclosing the substances responsible for those libido-boosting, male-enhancing powers.

Now, none of this is to say that there’s anything wrong with trying to boost your sex drive or enhance your maleness or whatever. Still, accidentally ingesting prescription drugs you didn’t know you were taking is, frankly, a problem. So I guess the main takeaway here is: be careful what kinds of weird horny honey you buy online, and maybe just stick to sex chocolate?