NEWS FROM YOHEI FUKAI/KYODO VIA AP
Officials from Japan’s Ministry of Health introduced a factory operated through a subsidiary of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. to conduct an on-site inspection in Kinokawa, south of Osaka in western Japan. Japanese government fitness officials on Sunday inspected a factory that makes fitness supplements linked to several deaths and hospitalizations of more than 100 more people, a day after the government investigated the factory that made the product.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese government health officials inspected a factory that makes nutritional supplements Sunday linked to at least five deaths and hospitalizations of more than 100 people, a day after the government investigated the factory that makes the product.
A team of 17 fitness officials from the central and prefectural governments raided a factory operated through Kobayashi subsidiary Pharmaceutical Co. in Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, according to the Food Hygiene Act. Public broadcaster NHK showed officials entering the factory.
The Wakayama plant resumed production of supplements after Kobayashi Pharmaceutical shut down its plant in the nearby city of Osaka, which the government raided on Saturday, NHK said.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical spokesperson Yuko Tomiyama told reporters that the company is cooperating fully with the investigation.
The company says little is known about the exact cause of those diseases: kidney failure.
All of the supplements studied used “benikoji,” a type of red mold, and added pink pills from Kobayashi Pharmaceuticals called Benikoji Choleste Help, which were touted as helpful in lowering cholesterol levels.
Osaka-based Kobayashi Pharmaceutical said about a million packs had been sold in the following three fiscal years. He also sold benikoji to other brands and some products were exported. Supplements can only be purchased at pharmacies without a prescription.
Reports on fitness considerations emerged in 2023; Benikoji has been used in various products for years.
The recall took place on March 22, two months after the company obtained official medical reports on the issue. The company’s president, Akihiro Kobayashi, apologized for acting earlier.
On Friday, the company announced that five more people had died and that 114 others were being treated in hospital after taking the products.
Japan’s health ministry says supplements may be to blame for deaths and illnesses, and has warned that the number of people affected could rise. The government has ordered a review of the approval formula in response to supplement-related illnesses.
Some analysts blame recent deregulation initiatives, which have simplified and accelerated the approval of fitness products, for boosting economic growth. Deaths due to a mass-produced item are rare in Japan, as government controls on customers’ products are strict.
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