May 2, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Want to lower your cholesterol? Be careful with food additives


In Japan, four people have died and 100 have been hospitalized after taking a cholesterol-lowering supplement.

Doctors associate the mass poisoning with a food additive that contained red yeast rice. After using the “effective” product, sold over the counter, the victims experienced serious kidney problems.

How tells The Telegraph, Beni Koji contains red yeast rice, which is used in salads, pasta, sake and a variety of other foods. However, this time everything ended tragically. The manufacturer Kobayashi Pharmaceutical promptly recalled three of its dietary supplements, including “Beni Koji Choleste Help”, after massive complaints of kidney problems after consuming them.

The company received the first complaints about the impact of its product on consumer health back in January, but did not provide this information to the government. Kobayashi Pharmaceutical analyzed the supplement and found that it may have contained “ingredients that were not intended to be added.”

However, the company did not find the chemical compound citrinin, produced by red yeast rice, which is toxic and can damage the kidneys. Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, together with the Japanese Ministry of Health, is conducting an investigation.



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