At least two people have died and more than a hundred have been hospitalized in Japan in connection with the consumption of a series of cholesterol-lowering dietary supplements made from red yeast rice. The products have already been removed from the market.
The company responsible, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, has launched an investigation after being alerted by a doctor to health problems that included symptoms such as fatigue and kidney dysfunction, apparently related to the consumption of its products.
“We will try to guarantee the health safety of the population and food, and we will stop the spread of damage while we look for the cause and the products are recalled,” said the Japanese Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare, Keizo Takemi.
The health problems are believed to have been caused by items containing red yeast rice (beni-koji in Japanese), a variety of this cereal that turns a reddish color when fermented. This type of rice is commonly used in Asian cuisine and traditional Chinese medicine.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical has decided to voluntarily recall five products from the market, including 300,000 packages of tablets sold as a cholesterol-lowering supplement, of which it claims it had sold 1.06 million packages as of last month since its launch in 2021. .
In addition to the number of products mentioned, the company distributed red yeast rice to 52 other national and foreign companies, which it has also asked to withdraw their products, since they could also be affected by some unknown harmful ingredient.
In China, online sales of the products have been suspended and local media have been informed. Products have also been removed from circulation in Taiwan.
