China probing liquor suppliers for Viagra in alcohol

Police in south China are looking into allegations that two distillers in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region added a banned food additive used to treat erectile dysfunction to their liquors.

They also found packets of Sildenafil, the generic name for Viagra.

Baijiu is a popular traditional Chinese strong clear alcohol made from grains, usually 40-60% alcohol by volume.

The Liuzhou Food and Drug Administration said it found that Guikun Alcohol Plant and Deshun Alcohol Plant in the provincial city of Liuzhou were putting sildenafil – more commonly known as Viagra – into three of their baijiu products. The case is worth 700,000 yuan (almost $113,000).

Doctors recommend that those with a prescription only take one dose of Viagra a day, even less if the user is over the age of 65.

Customers were told that the spirits had “health-preserving” qualities, the BBC reports.

It is not the first case of adding Viagra into baijiu liquor in China. China continues to face widespread food safety problems, which is a major concern for the nation. Last year, a businessman from central China’s Hubei Province was detained for the same offence.