A Million Packages Sold: Japanese Supplement Recall Leaves Dozens Dead, Hundreds Ill amid Unprecedented Safety Scandal

In Japan, health officials conducted a raid on a factory in Osaka that produced health supplements. The supplements were linked to the deaths of at least five people and the hospitalization of over 100 others. The officials arrived at the Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. plant wearing dark suits and were shown on Japanese TV news. The exact cause of the sicknesses, which included kidney failure, is still unknown. An investigation into the products is ongoing in coordination with government health authorities.

The supplements in question contained “benikoji,” a type of red mold. One of the products produced by Kobayashi Pharmaceuticals, called Benikoji Choleste Help, was marketed as aiding in lowering cholesterol levels. The company sold around a million packages of these supplements over the past three fiscal years and also supplied benikoji to other manufacturers. Reports of health problems began to surface in 2023, even though benikoji has been used in various products for years.

Company president Akihiro Kobayashi issued an apology for the delayed response to the issue. The recall of the products was initiated on March 22, two months after official medical reports were received by the company about the problem. As of Friday, five deaths and 114 hospitalizations were linked to the supplements. Japan’s health ministry stated that the supplements were responsible for the deaths and illnesses and warned that the number of affected individuals could increase.

Some analysts attribute the incident to recent deregulation initiatives aimed at simplifying and expediting the approval process for health products to stimulate economic growth. However, mass deaths from a consumer item are rare in Japan due to the rigorous government checks on consumer products. In response to the supplement-related illnesses,