Health Department Warns Against Consuming MINTS Plus+ Candy Containing Undeclared Drug Tadalafil

DH urges public not to buy or consume product called MINTS Plus+ with undeclared controlled drug ingredient

​The Department of Health (DH) today (December 12) urged the public not to buy or consume a product called MINTS Plus+, packaged as a candy, as it was found to contain an undeclared controlled drug ingredient. Improper use can pose serious health risks, especially to patients with heart problems.

Acting upon a public complaint, the DH obtained a sample of the product via an online social media platform for analysis. The test results from the Government Laboratory revealed that the sample contained tadalafil, which is a Part 1 poison under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (Cap. 138) (the Ordinance). The product is not a registered pharmaceutical product in Hong Kong and cannot be sold in the market. The test results also revealed that the level of tadalafil in the sample exceeded its usual daily dose.

The DH is continuing to investigate the incident.

Tadalafil is a prescription drug used for treatment of erectile dysfunction, and should only be used under a doctor's advice and be supplied in a pharmacy under the supervision of a registered pharmacist upon a doctor's prescription. Side effects of tadalafil include low blood pressure, headache, vomiting, dizziness and transient vision disturbances. It may interact with some drugs (such as nitroglycerin for treatment of angina) and cause a decrease in blood pressure to dangerous levels. Improper use of tadalafil can pose serious health risks, especially for patients with heart problems.

According to the Ordinance, all pharmaceutical products must be registered with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Hong Kong before they can be legally sold in the market. Illegal sale or possession of unregistered pharmaceutical products or Part 1 poisons are criminal offences. The maximum penalty for each offence is a fine of $100,000 and two years' imprisonment.

The DH spokesman strongly urged members of the public not to buy or consume products of unknown or doubtful composition, or from unknown sources. All registered pharmaceutical products should carry a Hong Kong registration number on the package in the format of "HK-XXXXX". The safety, quality and efficacy of unregistered pharmaceutical products are not guaranteed.

Members of the public who have purchased the above product should stop consuming it immediately. They should consult healthcare professionals for advice if feeling unwell after consumption. The public may submit the products to the Drug Office of the DH at Room 1804-1806, 18/F, Wing On Kowloon Centre, 345 Nathan Road, Kowloon, during office hours for disposal.

The public may visit the webpage of the DH's Drug Office's page for the health message on sexual dysfunction and virility products and virility products found to contain undeclared Western medicines.

DH urges public not to buy or consume product called MINTS Plus+ with undeclared controlled drug ingredient Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

CFS continues to follow up on ice cream samples detected with coliform bacteria and total bacterial counts exceeding legal limits

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (December 12) said that subsequent to an earlier announcement that a sample of milk-flavoured ice cream collected from a light refreshment restaurant in Kowloon Bay was found to contain coliform bacteria and total bacterial counts exceeding the legal limits, a follow-up investigation showed that another sample of milk-flavoured ice cream and a sample of milk tea-flavoured ice cream collected from the light refreshment restaurant concerned were found to contain coliform bacteria and total bacterial counts exceeding the legal limits. The products concerned were produced and sold at the same branch of the restaurant. The follow-up investigation is ongoing.

A spokesman for the CFS said, "The CFS collected food samples from the light refreshment restaurant concerned for testing when following up on the related incident on December 9. Results of the above-mentioned two ice cream samples produced at the branch of the restaurant concerned showed that the milk-flavoured ice cream sample contained 1 300 coliform bacteria per gram and 57 000 bacteria per gram, while the milk tea-flavoured ice cream sample contained 240 coliform bacteria per gram and 70 000 bacteria per gram, exceeding the legal limits. Prosecution will be instituted should there be sufficient evidence.

"The CFS has conducted follow-up investigation of the restaurant concerned again. According to the CFS's advice, the restaurant concerned has stopped selling all ice cream products since December 9 and carried out thorough cleaning and disinfection. The CFS has also provided health education on food safety and hygiene to the person-in-charge and staff of the restaurant, and inspected and monitored the restaurant to ensure that it has adopted relevant improvement measures," the spokesman said.

Under the Frozen Confections Regulation (Cap. 132AC), frozen confection for sale should not contain more than 100 coliform bacteria per gram or more than 50,000 bacteria per gram. The maximum penalty for offenders is a fine of $10,000 and three months' imprisonment upon conviction. The fact that the coliform count and the total bacterial count exceeded the legal limits indicated that the hygienic conditions were unsatisfactory, but did not mean that consumption would lead to food poisoning.

The CFS will continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action to safeguard food safety and public health.