The Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers not to purchase or use the following products that are marketed as dietary supplements as they contain undeclared drug products that could be harmful:

  • VITAFER-L Gold 10 ml may be harmful due to hidden drug ingredient tadalafil
  • VITAFER-L Gold 20 ml may be harmful due to hidden drug ingredient tadalafil
  • VITAFER-L Gold 500 ml may be harmful due to hidden drug ingredient tadalafil
  • PeakMax may be harmful due to hidden drug ingredients sildenafil and diclofenac
  • VitalityXtra may be harmful due to hidden drug ingredient sildenafil
  • ZapMax may be harmful due to hidden drug ingredients sildenafil and diclofenac
  • ZoomMax may be harmful due to hidden drug ingredients sildenafil and diclofenac

These products are being promoted to enhance male sexual performance and contain active ingredients found in Cialis, Viagra, and Voltaren (and other, similar nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).

The FDA seems to be in a bit of a war against these dangerous unapproved drug products, and it seems, from all of the announcements that have preceded this current batch, as though the war is a never-ending game of whack-a-mole—as soon as one product is removed, another pops up to take its place.  In its advisory (which can be found under the November 8, 2024 bullet here), the Agency states:

“This notification is to inform the public of products marketed as dietary supplements or conventional foods with hidden drug ingredients and chemicals.  These products are typically promoted for sexual enhancement, weight loss, and body building and are often represented as being “all natural.”  FDA is unable to test and identify all products marketed as dietary supplements that have potentially harmful hidden ingredients.  Consumers should exercise caution before purchasing any product in the above categories.”

Consumers are constantly being duped into thinking that because a product says it is “natural” or if it is marketed as a dietary supplement, it must be safe.  Taking these products, which contain undeclared drug ingredients, can lead to serious consequences for patients who have certain medical conditions and they could cause serious adverse drug events or drug interactions with other medications that may be part of a patient’s daily drug regimen.