Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. said Thursday that it has decided to pull out of its business related to “beni koji” red fermented rice, following widespread health problems blamed on its supplement products containing the substance.
Japan’s Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. said Friday that it has failed to report to the health ministry some products containing its “beni koji” red fermented rice that were supplied to five companies. According to the ministry, none of the five companies’ products are marketed any longer. The ministry asked Kobayashi Pharmaceutical to report by Wednesday whether there are any beni koji-containing products subject to the reporting other than those of the five companies.
The number of deaths under investigation over possible links to Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co.’s supplements containing “beni koji” red fermented rice reached 97, Japan’s health ministry said Monday.
The number of fatal cases under investigation over possible links to Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co.’s supplements containing “beni koji” red fermented rice has reached 81, Japan’s health ministry said Friday.
The cumulative number of people hospitalized in relation to Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co.’s supplements containing “beni koji” red fermented rice had reached 492 as of Sunday, Japan’s health ministry said Tuesday.
Seventy-six new deaths are suspected of having links with the use of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co.’s supplements containing “beni koji” red fermented rice, health ministry officials said Friday.
Previously, the company had reported only five such deaths, and one of the five cases has turned out to be unrelated to the use of its supplements.The new suspected deaths surfaced after the ministry made inquiries to Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, which had not updated information about the matter.
Following a health scandal involving its “beni koji” dietary supplement products, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. said on Friday that it will withdraw from the 2025 World Expo in Osaka. The company had been preparing to sponsor a healthcare pavilion to be run by the prefecture and city of Osaka and others and also planning to run its own booth.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. on Friday withdrew its consolidated earnings forecasts for the business year to December 2024, citing difficulties in assessing the impact of a scandal involving its supplement products containing “beni koji” red fermented rice.
A Japanese government panel is reviewing the system allowing food products to be labeled as having specific health benefits, in the wake of deaths and hospitalizations of users of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co.’s dietary supplements containing “beni koji” red yeast rice.
The health ministry and the National Institute of Health Sciences said on the day that at least two compounds not normally found in the supplements were detected in an analysis of ingredient samples.
Barrier Free Japan