In Japan, the health scandal has been shaking the country for several months…
This Friday, the Japanese company Kobayashi Pharmaceutical announced that it was examining the cases of 76 additional deaths potentially linked to its anti-cholesterol food supplements containing red yeast rice.
A still provisional assessment
In a previous update on the case in April, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical reported “only” five deaths potentially linked to its products, which have since been withdrawn from the market. This initial number has since been reduced to four. This brings the provisional total of suspected deaths in the case to 80.
Many people who had consumed these dietary supplements, which appeared to cause kidney problems, were also hospitalized.
“Even if the direct cause of hospitalization or death is not kidney disease”, it has “become clear” that in certain cases, the consumption of the products in question has “indirectly” had harmful repercussions on the condition health of people, according to a press release from Kobayashi Pharmaceutical.
A first report in January
The company only communicated on the subject after mid-March by announcing the recall of three product ranges, although it had received a first worrying report from a doctor on January 15.
In late March, the company said it had identified puberulic acid, a toxic substance naturally produced by mold, in batches of its recalled products.
But the company and Japanese health authorities are still struggling to understand precisely why and how this massive health scandal occurred.
