For several months, anti-cholesterol food supplements have been at the center of a health scandal in Japan. They are believed to be the cause of 80 deaths.
More than 75 additional deaths
On Friday, June 28, the Japanese company Kobayashi Pharmaceutical announced that it was examining the cases of 76 additional deaths potentially linked to its food supplements anticholesterol.
As reported 20 Minutesthese products containing red yeast rice have caused a resounding health scandal in Japan for several months. In fact, the firm has already reported 5 deaths probably linked to these food supplements in April.
A toxic substance
As early as January 15, a doctor received a first worrying report, but the company did not communicate on the subject until mid-March.
She thus recalled three ranges of these food supplementsIn late March, it said it had identified puberulic acid, a toxic substance naturally produced by mold, in batches of its products that were subject to recall.
Kidney problems
Several people who have consumed these dietary supplements have been hospitalized, since these products appear to cause kidney problems. In a statement, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical emphasized that although 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 state of health of people“.
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