China’s food safety issues have always been a focus of public concern. On March 16th, topics such as “Internet-famous plum juice actually containing powerful laxatives” and “Viagra components detected in some tea and coffee” have sparked attention online.
According to a report by the Hai Bao News on March 16th, products like jelly and plum juice, claiming to be “saviors of meals,” were found to contain powerful laxatives hidden within. The tea products marketed for “health benefits” were found to include Viagra-like substances… These “ordinary foods” illegally laced with laxatives, diuretics, and other pharmaceutical ingredients conceal a dark industry chain behind them.
On the eve of international Consumer Rights Day, a reporter from the media outlet visited the testing laboratory of Wang Hai, known as the “first anti-counterfeiting person,” and followed a professional team to uncover a hidden scam involving “poisonous foods.”
The report revealed that on the shelves were several well-known products including dried plums and plum juice.
The testing report showed that these products claiming to “clean the intestines,” “promote bowel movements,” and be meal saviors were discovered to contain illegal additives such as phenolphthalein derivatives, bisacodyl derivatives, or similar potent laxatives. Besides items marketed for regulating digestion and weight loss, products claiming to have health benefits were also heavily tainted with illegal additives.
The laboratory’s director, Wang Yang (alias), picked up a tea beverage and said, “This looks like regular tea leaves, but we detected sildenafil and tadalafil in it, commonly known as Viagra components. These are strictly controlled prescription drugs and should not be added to food.”
The report mentioned that sildenafil and tadalafil are drugs and their derivatives mainly used clinically to treat male sexual dysfunction. Some businesses have been found to mix them into alcoholic beverages, compressed candies, coffee, etc., selling them under the guise of “functional foods,” claiming efficacy in “anti-fatigue,” “kidney tonifying,” and other effects, with very high prices.
In response, netizens commented, “Why not disclose the brand? I don’t have a detector in my mouth.” “Shouldn’t the brands be exposed? Why not be clear about which ones? What can we eat then?” “If brands are not revealed, then we should just consider all brands as untrustworthy and avoid buying such products.”
“I won’t buy anything in the future, especially those from live streaming platforms. I’m afraid.” “I bought plum juice from a celebrity livestream and got diarrhea after drinking it.”
The author of the headline article, a Weibo influencer ‘Yongzhou Jiedushi’, posted, “So-called ‘internet celebrities’ and ‘special effects’ are mostly these tactics – with low costs, adding some additives, exploiting consumers’ laziness with ‘special effects,’ and manipulating consumers’ compassion or empathy with ’emotions,’ turning around for four to five times profit. The so-called internet celebrity business is just a scam.”
Some netizens directly pointed fingers at the authorities, stating, “Hope the regulatory departments can strengthen supervision to protect our health rights.” “The domestic penalties for food safety issues are too light.” “Because the authorities have been bribed by businesses!” “Allowing such products to enter the market, regulators should also be held accountable!”