A male enhancement pill sold in some GNC franchise stores since 2017 is being recalled because testing found hidden Viagra and Cialis drugs that can send blood pressure dangerously low in men who take common heart medicine.
Story Highlights
- Every lot of Ultimate Forza Male Supplement capsules is being recalled after testing found three hidden prescription-type drugs: sildenafil, tadalafil and dapoxetine.
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notice says these drugs make the product an unapproved drug whose safety has not been established.
- GNC’s own third-party testing caught the problem, and sales stopped on October 1, 2026.
- The capsules were sold through certain independently owned GNC franchise stores, not GNC’s corporate stores, from 2017 through October 1, 2026.
- No harmful events have been reported, but men on nitrate heart drugs face the biggest risk.
Hidden Prescription Drugs Found in Store-Bought Supplement
In a notice posted by the FDA on Saturday, October 24, Tonight We Ride, LLC, the Lakeville, Minnesota, company behind the product, said it is recalling every lot of Ultimate Forza Male Supplement. A lot is one production batch, so no batch is safe to keep. Testing found the capsules held sildenafil, the active drug in Viagra, and tadalafil, the active drug in Cialis. None of these drugs appeared on the label.
The third hidden drug is dapoxetine. It belongs to the same family as many common antidepressants, called SSRIs, and it is not approved for sale in the United States. According to the notice, drugs in this family have been linked to more suicidal thoughts and behavior in children, teens and young adults.
The recall names two products that shoppers can check at home. One is the Ultimate Forza Multi-Capsule Box, a box of ten blue capsules, item number 810208, with the barcode number (UPC) 868592000002. The other is the Ultimate Forza Single Pack, one capsule, item number 810222, with the barcode number 868592000040.
GNC’s Own Testing Exposed the Problem
GNC paid an outside lab to test the supplement, and that testing is what found the hidden drugs. After that, sales stopped, the product was pulled aside at franchise stores, and customers were told to stop using it and bring back what they had for a refund.
Still, the capsules sat on shelves for years before anyone caught it. According to the notice, they were sold from 2017 to October 1, 2026. That is about nine years in which customers had no way of knowing what they were really swallowing.
A franchise store is one that is owned and run by a local business owner under the GNC name. The notice makes clear the product was not sold in GNC’s corporate-run stores. That detail matters for anyone trying to understand where the breakdown happened.
Why Hidden Viagra Ingredients Are Dangerous
This is not a harmless labeling slip. Nitrates are heart drugs, such as nitroglycerin, that many men take for chest pain. The notice warns that sildenafil and tadalafil can interact with nitrates and may lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. A man on heart medicine who took this pill thinking it was a simple supplement had no idea he was taking that risk.
No harmful events had been reported when the recall was announced. That is good news, but it does not erase the risk. A product sold as a supplement should never contain hidden drugs that can cause a medical emergency when mixed with common heart medicine.
A Pattern Bigger Than One Product
This case fits a larger problem. A study of FDA warnings from 2007 through 2016 found 776 supplements that held hidden drug ingredients, and nearly half of them were sold as male enhancement products. Among those, more than 80 percent contained sildenafil or a close chemical cousin.
The FDA says supplements sold with health claims are not reviewed by the agency before they reach store shelves, and some contain hidden drugs. The agency urges extra caution with any product sold for male enhancement. Its online health fraud database lists some tainted products, but it covers only a small share of them, so a missing name is no promise that a product is safe.
What Customers Should Do
Anyone who bought Ultimate Forza Male Supplement should stop taking it at once. Unopened or partly used product can go back to a GNC store for a full refund. Bring the receipt, or the phone number or email tied to the loyalty account used for the purchase. GNC Customer Service can be reached at 1-877-462-4700 or [email protected].
Anyone who has taken the capsules and had any health problem should call a doctor, and men who take any nitrate heart medicine should be sure to tell their doctor they used it. Reactions can also be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch program. A recall notice is no substitute for a doctor’s advice, and the safest step is to ask one.
Sources:
fda.gov, techlicious.com, silive.com
