Viagra-Like Substance In Coffee Spurs Nationwide Recall

DALLAS, TX — Coffee sold nationwide by a Texas-based importer offered more than the typical morning pick-me-up. Federal regulators say the coffee also contained an undisclosed ingredient similar to that found for the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra.

Buyers of instant coffee packets sold under the “New of Kopi Jantan Tradisional Natural Herbs Coffee” label probably weren't entirely surprised by the recall, though.

Bestherbs Coffee LLC markets the coffee as a “male enhancement” product, and a U.S. Food and Drug Administration analysis showed some truth in advertising. The analysis confirmed the coffee contained desmethyl carbodenafil, a substance the FDA said is structurally similar to sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra.

The FDA said the coffee could be a dangerous cocktail for men if they mix it with nitrates prescribed for diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease. The coffee could also be dangerous for people with allergies or intolerance to dairy products because it contains undeclared milk, according to the coffee recall notice on the FDA website. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Dallas Patch, or click here to find your local Texas Patch. Also, if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

The coffee was distributed by Grand Prairie, Texas-based Bestherbs from 2014-2016, but no illnesses have been reported, both the ompany and the FDA said.

Albert Yee, who owns Bestherbs, told the Washington Post he decided to import the male-enhancement coffee after seeing its popularity in Malaysian cities, where it’s sold by street vendors.

“There are whole streets of it, like tequila in Mexico,” he said.

It’s unclear how many packets of coffee are affected by the recall, but Yee told The Post he figures it’s around a thousand. Coffee returned as a result of the recall will be destroyed by the FDA.

For more on the recall, go to the FDA website.

Feature photo by Nicky Loh/Getty Images for World Animal Protection/Getty Images News