Chinese Distillers Accused of Spiking Alcohol With Viagra

Two distillers are under investigation in China for allegedly spiking their alcohol with the anti-impotence drug Viagra, officials said on Saturday.

Chinese investigators discovered over 5,300 bottles suspected of being tainted with sildenafil, the chemical name for Viagra, during a routine inspection of the two distilleries in the southern city of Liuzhou, BBC reports.

According to the city’s food and drug administration, the powdery white drug was added into three different types of “health-preserving” baijiu, a popular spirit analogous to vodka. Some bottles also contained naproxen and indomethacin, which are anti-inflammatory drugs, and tadafil, which is a different erectile dysfunction drug sold as Cialis or Adcirca.

Food safety remains a top public health concern in China, with a scandal involving 100,000 tons of rotting meat making headlines just weeks ago.

[BBC]