'Male enhancement' tablet recalled due to undeclared erectile dysfunction drug

Red-E male enhancement tablet and packaging. (The Protein Shoppe LLC via FDA)

A dietary supplement is being recalled for perhaps being too effective at what it is marketed for, which also makes it potentially dangerous. The Protein Shoppe LLC is voluntarily recalling all lots of its Red-E so-called male-enhancement tablet because lab tests turned up an undeclared drug: sildenafil. 

Sildenafil is the active ingredient in the brand-name medication Viagra, which treats erectile dysfunction.

Red-E was sold online at rgvproteinshoppe.com as a nutritional supplement, not a medication. It could pose a health risk to someone who has an underlying health issue and inadvertently takes an undeclared drug such as sildenafil, which is a PDE-5 inhibitor. 

"For example, PDE-5 inhibitors may interact with nitrates found in some prescription drugs (such as nitroglycerin) lowering blood pressure to dangerous levels that is [sic] life threatening and could result in serious adverse health consequences," the company said in an announcement posted on the FDA website

If you have purchased this product, you should not use it and you should return it to the point of purchase.

If you have any questions, you can contact The Protein Shoppe by phone at 956-687-3539, via email to theproteinshoppe@yahoo.com, or by mail to The Protein Shoppe LLC, 101 E Exp. 83 Ste. A-1 Pharr, TX 78557.

In recent years, other supplements for so-called male enhancement and libido have been pulled from stores and recalled for containing undeclared sildenafil.

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