Japanese pharmaceutical company Kobayashi announced today that a fifth death has been confirmed, linked to the consumption of a red yeast food supplement it produces.
According to the company, the five people who died were between 70 and 90 years old. The company has withdrawn its "beni-koji choleste help" cholesterol-lowering supplements.
"We apologize for the trouble we caused," company president Akihiro Kobayashi said at a press conference in Osaka, Kyodo reports.
A senior company official said about 680 people are already seeking outpatient treatment for symptoms allegedly related to the use of the supplement, and the company will compensate them, as well as the 114 people who were hospitalized.
