In a statement, the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) said the use of the poisons are regulated under the Poisons Act 1952 and called for further investigation to be carried out into how the controlled poisons were acquired.

This comes after the health ministry issued a statement on Nov 5 about legal action against the producers and distributors of 21 food products. The ministry had also called for the existing stock (of the 21 food products) to be surrendered to district health offices as soon as possible.

CAP president Mohideen Abdul Kader cited a case in 2014 where a 36-year-old man died after drinking coffee that contained high levels of sildenafil, a sex stimulant.

According to the statement, the combination of both sildenafil and caffeine in high levels can cause extremely high blood pressure, which is potentially lethal when unchecked.

The product in question remains available, despite being banned by authorities.

CAP said that confiscation and bans were ineffective in eradicating the problem, as similar products remain available under different names.

For this reason, CAP called for proactive strategies rather than reactive measures, ones that begin with investigating how these food manufacturers were sourcing their supply of the controlled drugs.

“It is time that the health ministry takes a serious view of the situation and nip the problem in the bud by strictly enforcing the Poisons Act 1952,” CAP said.