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FOOD AND DRINK

France issues health warning on ‘aphrodisiac’ honey

French health and security authorities on Tuesday warned against honey and gel products being marketed as natural aphrodisiacs but which in fact contain ingredients not marked on labels that may have dangerous side effects.

Published: 27 July 2021 12:04 CEST
France issues health warning on 'aphrodisiac' honey
Illustration photo: Hazem Bader/AFP

Anyone who has bought the products “should above all not consume them but destroy them”, French anti-fraud, customs and health products safety agencies said in a joint statement.

They said the products, marketed under names like Black Horse Honey and Jaguar Power, claim to be natural but actually contain chemical products like sildenafil or tadalafil.

These are the main substances in the anti-erectile dysfunction drugs Viagra and Cialis, which in France are only available on prescription.

These substances can have serious side-effects in people suffering heart conditions, the agencies warned, saying clinics had in the last months reported several cases of people who had consumed the products.

These included “repeated convulsions, pulmonary hemorrhages, brain swelling, or major acute renal failure that, for some, resulted in hospitalisations,” the agencies warned.

Member comments

  1. “These are the main substances in the anti-erectile dysfunction drugs Viagra and Cialis, which in France are only available on prescription.”

    Thank God for the internet then. The main reason is that the chemists don’t want the competition.

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FOOD AND DRINK

Cheese in numbers: France’s obsession with fromage

From cheese types to the amount eaten per year, via cheese favourites - here's a look at how France really feels about fromage.

Published: 27 March 2024 14:16 CET
Cheese in numbers: France’s obsession with fromage

March 27th is the Journée nationale du fromage in France – so here are a few facts about the delicious dairy delicacy.

246

Charles de Gaulle famously once asked of governing France: “How can anyone govern a country with 246 varieties of cheese?”.

His numbers were wrong. Producers in France make closer to 1,000 varieties of cheese – and some have estimated that figure could be pushed up as high as 1,600.

8

The number of cheese ‘families’ in France. A good cheeseboard in France is generally considered to consist of at least three ‘families’ – a soft cheese, a hard cheese and either a blue or a goat’s cheese. Remember, too, an odd number of fromages on a platter is better than an even number, according from cheese etiquettists

READ ALSO France Facts: There are eight cheese families in France

2.5

About how long – in years – it would take you to try every cheese made in France, if you tried a new variety every day. Life goals. 

95

The percentage of people in France who say they eat cheese at least once a week, spending seven percent of their weekly food bill on it.

READ ALSO Best Briehaviour: Your guide to French cheese etiquette

40

Two-fifths of French people say they eat cheese every day

57

The amount of cheese produced, in kilogrammes, in France every second, according to this website, which has a counter to show you how fast that really is. It’s estimated that 1.8 million tonnes of cheese are produced in France every year.

27

The French consume, on average, a whopping 27 kilogrammes of cheese per person per year.

READ ALSO Fonduegate: Why customer service is different in France

3

The three most popular cheeses in France, based on sales, are Emmental, Camembert, and Raclette – followed by mozzarella, goat’s cheese, Comté and Coulommiers.

63

Some 63 cheeses have been awarded the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée status, which means they can only be produced in a certain region.

1

France has – or at least soon will have – one dedicated cheese museum. 

READ ALSO Three things to know about the new Paris cheese museum

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