Sense Chocolate's aphrodisiac claims upheld by the RCC — the doses were too low to work

Sense Chocolate's website described its product as cocoa plus "five powerful ingredients that prepare you for intimate moments": epimedium to raise libido, ginseng for energy, L-citrulline for circulation, beta-alanine against muscle fatigue, and valerian to relax.

A complainant worked through the doses against the clinical literature: beta-alanine at 0.5 g where tingling starts at 0.8–1 g and performance needs 3–6 g a day; L-citrulline at 380 mg where the effective dose is 3–6 g; epimedium's active substance likely only ~45 mg. Only valerian and ginseng sat near their lowest effective levels. He called it "ingredient-dropping" marketing.

The advertiser said it had a specialist agency ensure EU compliance, claimed it only made a health claim about ginseng (which is on the EU 'on hold' list), and that the other ingredients were merely part of the recipe.

The RCC chairman disagreed, ruling the ingredient-and-effect claims breached Article 2 and Article 7 of the Dutch Advertising Code via unauthorised health claims under Regulation (EC) 1924/2006, and ordered the advertiser to stop advertising in that manner.