Hospitalizations for kidney problems
Many people who had consumed these food supplements, suspected of causing kidney problems, have also been 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 certain people, according to a press release from Kobayashi Pharmaceutical. Concretely, these products have often created comorbidity situations, worsening the health of people who already suffered from other illnesses.
The Osaka (western Japan) company only announced the recall of three product lines after mid-March, although it had received a first worrying report from a doctor on January 15.
Mold and toxic substance
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 pharmaceutical company and Japanese health authorities are still working to understand precisely why and how the massive health scandal occurred.
Japan’s health ministry has now ordered Kobayashi Pharmaceutical to provide a daily report on its internal investigation.
“Until now (the company, editor’s note) had not reported the precise number of cases examined, which is extremely regrettable,” Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told the press on Friday.
Hundreds of product recalls
Red yeast rice (called “beni koji” in Japan) has been used for centuries in East Asia in food, alcoholic beverages and traditional Chinese medicine for its digestive and circulation-improving properties. This yeast contains a natural statin, monacolin K, which can inhibit cholesterol synthesis.
