TOKYO:  , Japanese health supplement maker Kobayashi Pharmaceutical said on Friday ( Jun 28 ) it was probing 76 more deaths possibly linked to its tablets containing red yeast rice, or “beni koji”, meant to lower cholesterol.
It furthers a controversy that broke out earlier this year when the company announced it was looking into five incidents that might be linked to the over-the-counter products after dozens of customers reported liver problems.
It has become clear that there are many circumstances, including those where beni koji-related materials may have caused damage in some way and had an indirect impact, even if the direct cause of hospitalization or dying was n’t kidney-related condition, Kobayashi said in a statement.
The firm claimed it now knows one of the five original deaths that the company identified did not occur from dark yeast rice.
The element has been used in foods, alcoholic beverages, and folk medicines for centuries in East Asia by growing mold lifestyle.
” We have received 1, 656 inquiries from individuals who have sought medical attention, and have 76 cases under investigation over ( a causal ) connection to the deaths”, in addition to the original four, it said.
On March 22, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical made the announcement to recall three different over-the-counter ben koji pills.
Federal officials inspected the company’s facilities after it later claimed it had found a potentially harmful acid caused by mold at one of its factories.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical is a well-known brand in Japan that sells a wide range of health-related merchandise, and the controversy has become popular there.
Kobayashi said on Friday that it was still unsure of the specific reason and extent of the heath damage, including whether it might have affected other organs than the kidneys.