$1M fine for B.C. sex shop company caught selling ‘Herbal Viagra’ containing actual ED drugs

Passion Fem was recalled by Health Canada in 2019 for containing an undeclared prescription drug, sildenafil, the active ingredient in Cialis. (Handout)

A company that operates several sex shops across B.C.’s Lower Mainland has been fined more than $1 million after it was caught selling supposed “natural” alternatives to Viagra and Cialis that contained actual prescription drugs.

MFH International Enterprise Inc. was convicted of three federal Food and Drugs Act offences last summer, then sentenced earlier this month in Richmond provincial court.

“MFH sold two products, Harmony and Passion Fem, as natural health products, knowing that they contained undisclosed prescription enhancement drugs,” reads Judge Bonnie Craig’s March 3 decision.

Those drugs were sildenafil and tadalafil, the active ingredients in the erectile dysfunction treatments Viagra and Cialis, respectively.

The mislabeled products were found by an undercover inspector for Health Canada, who purchased a box of Harmony from the company’s Burnaby location in December 2020.

Testing confirmed the capsules inside contained 57.4 mg of tadalafil, which is “approximately three times higher than the maximum recommended dose,” according to the decision.

That prompted searches of all four of MFH’s shops, including locations in Vancouver and Richmond, resulting in the seizure of 1,785 capsules of Harmony and 2,160 capsules of Passion Fem.

The latter had already been the subject of a Health Canada recall back in 2019.

The court heard the Harmony packaging boasted it was “Herbal Viagra,” “safe with no side effects” and made with “100% natural extracts.” Passion Fem was advertised with similar claims, plus a promise to boost “female libido,” even though the active ingredient has only been approve for use by men.

The decision names Andy Zhang as the “directing mind” of MFH. While his wife, Duo Zhang, is the sole owner, she purportedly has “nothing to do with the company’s operation,” Craig wrote.

The company was convicted under section 31.2 of the Food and Drugs Act, which outlaws labelling, packaging, treating, processing, selling or advertising any drug in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive.

The maximum fine for a first offence is $250,000, but because MFH was found to have sold the products over a period of months, it was considered a “continuing offence,” meaning the company could be charged the maximum fine for each day it was committed.

MFH pushed for between $370,000 and $550,000 in penalties, pointing to a downturn in profits over recent years, and arguing a stiffer fine could destroy its business.

Craig ultimately decided on a fine of $1.07 million, payable over five years, plus 24 months of probation. She cited the company’s “high level of culpability,” and the fact that it stood to profit nearly $712,000 from the mislabeled drugs, as factors.

“To deter MFH and other companies that may be tempted to engage in a similar venture, the penalty imposed must be higher than the expected profit,” she wrote.