Why Did the Coffee Calcium Latte Draw Regulatory Scrutiny?

A coffee shop at the former Harbin Pharmaceutical Group No. 6 Factory site launched a Blue Bottle Latte containing calcium gluconate and a Zinc Wish Latte containing zinc gluconate, mixing oral liquid medicine into coffee. The oral liquid label states it should not be taken with milk or caffeine, and both products are Class A over-the-counter drugs, so adding them to food may violate the Food Safety Law.

The blue bottle drinks have since been removed from the menu, though it is unclear whether the move is temporary or permanent. The case illustrates a broader boundary: coffee calcium products and alcohol and coffee combinations are fine when the ingredients are foods, but mixing approved drugs into beverages crosses into regulated territory that China's food safety rules do not permit.

During the May Day holiday, the former site of Harbin Pharmaceutical Group's No. 6 Factory, known as the "Louvre of Northeast China," became a popular check-in spot. A coffee shop opened in its ground-floor lobby launched two distinctive drinks—pairing the Group's iconic little blue bottle oral liquid with coffee to create a Blue Bottle Latte containing calcium gluconate and a Zinc Wish Latte containing zinc gluconate. However, this creative idea sparked consumer doubts about medication safety: the oral liquid instructions clearly state it should not be taken with milk or caffeine, and both products are Class A over-the-counter drugs, not substances that are both food and medicine. Under the Food Safety Law, drugs may not be added to food, and the coffee shop's preparation method may be in violation. Currently, the blue bottle coffee has been taken off the menu, though whether it is temporarily sold out or permanently discontinued remains uncertain.

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Though Harbin has shed its icy winter attire and no longer wears its silvery winter coat, this famous tourist city known as the "Paris of the East" still welcomed visitors from all directions during this year's May Day holiday. Among them, the former site of Harbin Pharmaceutical Group's No. 6 Factory, dubbed the "Louvre of Northeast China" by netizens, leaped to become a hot check-in landmark.

This building, whose exterior closely resembles the Louvre in Paris, France, was funded and built by Harbin Pharmaceutical Group in 2004 and used as office space for its No. 6 Pharmaceutical Factory after completion. In 2020, after the No. 6 Factory merged with the No. 4 Factory of Sanjing Pharmaceutical and moved out of the original site, this office building—solemn and elegant on the outside and splendidly decorated inside—fell idle for a time. As tourist numbers rose in recent years, the former site became popular again thanks to the title "Louvre of Northeast China," and Harbin Pharmaceutical Group opened it to visitors accordingly.

Recently, visitors noticed that a new coffee shop had opened in the ground-floor lobby of the attraction. The shop creatively mixes Harbin Pharmaceutical Group's most representative oral medicines with coffee, launching two specialty drinks with strong No. 6 Factory identity: one is a Blue Bottle Latte with added calcium gluconate, and the other is a Zinc Wish Latte with added zinc gluconate.

From photos shared by netizens, these two lattes are each built on a base of red and blue syrup, then filled with milk and espresso, and finally a staff member inverts a freshly opened little blue bottle over the rim of the cup, letting the oral liquid slowly drip down and blend with the coffee.

These two oral liquids were once nutritional supplements that many people were urged by their parents to take in childhood. Now the little blue bottle from memory has transformed into coffee's companion, leaving young consumers who once drank the oral liquid feeling very curious.

Netizens who have tried them report that the two oral liquids themselves are mainly sweet and sour, and once mixed into a latte, the supplement taste is actually not very noticeable. Without seeing the staff pour a freshly opened oral liquid into the cup, it would be almost hard to believe that a supplement had really been added to the drink.

However, people who once took the oral liquid vaguely remember the phrase elders repeatedly warned them about: "Oral liquid cannot be taken with milk." Therefore, the shop's practice of mixing the two oral liquids into lattes inevitably raises doubts.

Upon verification, the instructions for the calcium gluconate oral liquid used for calcium supplementation state: "Drinking large amounts of alcoholic and caffeinated beverages and heavy smoking can all inhibit calcium absorption"; while the instructions for the zinc gluconate oral liquid used for zinc supplementation clearly state: "Do not take this product with milk." It can thus be seen that neither supplement is suitable for addition to a latte.

In addition, under the relevant provisions of the Food Safety Law, drugs may not be added to food that is produced or sold, although substances that are traditionally both food and Chinese medicinal materials may be added. Both oral liquids produced by Harbin Pharmaceutical Group bear the red "OTC" mark and are Class A over-the-counter drugs, not Chinese medicinal materials. Therefore, the coffee shop's act of adding the oral liquids to consumers' drinks may violate the Food Safety Law.

In response to customers' doubts, some said that yesterday afternoon the coffee shop had adjusted its preparation method, pouring out the supplement from the little blue bottles and keeping only the empty bottles for decoration. As of press time, netizens visiting the site said the blue bottle coffee had already been taken off the menu. As for whether these two drinks are temporarily sold out or permanently removed from the menu, there is still no definitive news.

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.