If you're the type who buys halo-halo and other summer coolers from street vendors and shabby canteens, take extra caution -- they might be using "magic sugar," an artificial sweetener that may cause a number of health risks.

According to Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral, several vendors may be tempted to use magic sugar in their products due to high sugar prices.

This is not good, she said, since this artificial sweetener smuggled from Indonesia may increase the incidence of urinary bladder cancer, among others.

"We caution people from using it...from using it in the food they sell, because it has not been inspected by the Food and Drug Administration and it is not declared as safe," Cabral told ABS-CBN News.

"If you take too much of it [magic sugar], it can produce body affection like dizziness, vomiting, stomach ache, etc," she added.

Cabral said magic sugar contains sodium cyclamate, a substance banned in most countries since it is unfit for human consumption. Street vendors and small stores are commonly found selling food and drinks with this artificial sweetener since it's cheaper than cane sugar.

Meanwhile, Cabral also urged the public to be more careful in choosing the food they eat this summer since improperly prepared snacks may be potentially deadly. Report from Barbara Mijares, ABS-CBN Bacolod