Saturday, March 30, 2024











Japanese factory searched over deaths possibly linked to dietary supplements


Japanese officials enter a Kobayashi Pharmaceutical factory to conduct an on-site inspection in Osaka City, on 30 March, 2024. 
Photo: AFP/ Mami Nagaoki

Japanese health officials searched a Kobayashi Pharmaceutical factory on Saturday after the drugmaker reported five deaths possibly linked to dietary supplements using red yeast rice, an official said.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the City of Osaka jointly inspected the factory in Osaka that had made the supplements containing "Beni-Koji" red yeast, suspected of having caused health damage, the ministry official said.

News footage showed officials entering the factory, and the official said the ministry could search other related locations.

The factory, which made the product until December, had been closed due to ageing facilities, Japanese media said.

The Osaka-based company could not immediately be reached for comment. Yuko Tomiyama, head of Kobayashi's investor relations, told public broadcaster NHK the firm intends to sincerely deal with the matter and fully cooperate with the investigation.

Kobayashi said on Friday it was investigating a suspected link between the products and their effects on the kidney since it received reports of kidney disease linked to the products.

As of Thursday evening, 114 people had been hospitalised and five had died after taking the supplements, which were marketed as helping lower cholesterol levels, according to the company.

Kobayashi said it is examining the earnings impact of the latest issues.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi criticised the company on Tuesday for its slow response, saying it was regrettable that Kobayashi took two months to announce the health impacts of its products.

The company has been recalling products with Beni-Koji in recent days after receiving reports of kidney ailments. Its products are also consumed in places such as China, and Japanese media said a case of acute renal failure had been reported in Taiwan.

A Chinese consumers association urged consumers to stop using affected products, saying it was concerned about the risk of Kobayashi products, state media reported on Friday.

Beni-Koji contains Monascus purpureus, a red mould that is also used as a red colouring in some foods.

Puberulic acid - a potent antibacterial and antimalarial agent that can be produced from blue mould and can be toxic - was confirmed in a batch of the products that caused health complaints, Japanese media said.

- This story was first published by Reuters


Japan's Kobayashi Pharma factory inspected amid supplement health scare

Xinhua
2024-03-30
Japanese health ministry officials head to search a Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co factory in Osaka, Japan, on March 30, 2024, in this photo taken by Kyodo, Reuters

Japan's health ministry and local authorities on Saturday inspected the Osaka factory of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical following reports of deaths and hospitalizations possibly linked to its dietary supplements containing red yeast rice, known as "beni-koji."

The factory in western Japan, which was making the ingredients of the product named Beni-koji Choleste Help, a type of granules advertised with the effect of lowering LDL cholesterol levels, shut down in December.

However, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Osaka city government decided to carry out an on-site inspection in light of the widening health problems regarding the Osaka-based drugmaker's beni-koji products.

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical on Friday announced one additional death suspected to be linked to the consumption of beni-koji supplements, bringing the death toll to five.

While more than 110 people have been hospitalized over health damage and nearly 700 have either seen a doctor due to health issues or wish to do so, the company, during a press conference held in Osaka on Friday, revealed plans to compensate approximately 800 individuals who reported health issues after consuming the product.

An unintended component called "puberulic acid" has been detected in the company's product, according to Japan's health ministry.

The findings, disclosed by the Osaka-based company during an expert panel meeting convened by the health ministry on Thursday, stated that puberulic acid, derived from blue mold, was identified in a batch of the supplements linked to health issues.

The substance is a potent antibacterial and antimalarial agent that can be toxic, but the extent to which its ingestion may pose health risks or cause kidney damage remains unclear, according to the ministry.

The company rolled out Choleste Help in February 2021, selling around 1 million packages by the end of February this year.

Since last week the health scare over Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's beni-koji supplements has been growing after the company announced that 13 people who took the products suffered health damage including kidney disease.

According to local media reports, it took the pharmaceutical over two months to disclose the damage they had been aware of, and the Consumer Affairs Agency announced plans to conduct an emergency inspection of over 6,000 functional foods.

The voluntary recall of products containing Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's beni-koji as a food ingredient has now expanded nationwide, affecting various products including sake, confectionery, bread and miso.

Earlier reports showed that the company had supplied the rice fermented with red yeast to 52 manufacturers.

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