Dutch Food Authority warns that sex-enhancing herbal plants can cause cancer

Herbal preparations containing the ingredient Tongkat Ali should not be used as they may cause cancer, The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) has warned. Products containing this ingredient are often touted as sex-enhancing but are banned in the European Union.

Tongkat Ali is a plant used in herbal preparations. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has discovered that the plant is genotoxic and can therefore cause cancer.

In June and July, the NVWA inspected 16 companies, finding Tongkat Ali in 10 of these companies in a total of 11 products. These products were confiscated and destroyed.

In addition, the investigation showed that a number of foreign companies were also trading products with Tongkat Ali in the Netherlands. Four different products were sold with Tongkat Ali at two online stores. The names of these companies were reported by the NVWA to the countries where these companies are established so that they could stop the trade in these products.

Consumers have been asked to report to the NVWA if they see Tongkat Ali being offered in a Dutch store or webshop.