In Japan 81 people are said to have died from taking the food supplements anti-cholesterol based on fermented red rice. The company producing the products Kobayashi Pharmaceutical announced that it is examining the cases of 76 deaths potentially linked to “beni-koji” supplements. The health scandal broke out in March when the pharmaceutical company declared that 5 people were dead after ingesting the product. The figure was then corrected and dropped to four. The supplement was immediately withdrawn from the market (about 300 thousand batches).
Japan, 81 deaths: they had taken the anti-cholesterol supplement with red yeast rice
What happened
The anti-cholesterol drug based on red yeast rice is a production of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Kobayashi (whose president is Akihiro Kobayashi), based in Osaka. The product would have potentially caused the death of at least four people (initially the company spoke of five deaths).
In April, another 166 people were hospitalized after taking the supplement, the Japan Times reported. The Japanese Ministry of Health launched an investigation, which began on October 26, 2023, and accused the pharmaceutical company of failing to update health authorities as required. “The company’s behavior is extremely deplorable, and the investigation into the fatal accidents cannot be neglected. The government will handle it directly,” Health Minister Keizo Takemi told local media.
In late March the Osaka-based drugmaker announced that a number of people who had used the supplement – which is intended to help reduce LDL levels, known as bad cholesterol – were experiencing kidney related diseases. The company also discovered what could have caused the diseases: it detected a natural chemical compound, derived from the blue mold in the ingredients used for the production of supplements, an anomalous, potentially toxic substance. Among the 76 new cases, in addition to those confirmed, the causes of death not only include complications related to the kidneys, but also cancer, brain stroke, pneumonia and aortic dissection.
The company and the bland quality control
Founded in 1919, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical produces a variety of supplements and health products and is also known abroad. According to industry analysts, the quality controls of supplements, which in Japan are governed by a 2015 regulation, are considered laxer than the strict rules on prescription drugs, and in many cases are not subjected to thorough state screening.
Supplement exports: risk of diffusion
“Beni-koji” supplements have also been sold abroad. This is why there is a risk that the critical issues could also spread to neighboring countries. In fact, the pharmaceutical company said it had also sold red rice-based products to others 50 companies in Japan and two in Taiwan. The latter preventively withdrew 154 suspect products after the alarm, as declared by the island’s health authorities and at the moment neither deaths nor illnesses linked to the intake of the supplements have been reported.
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