《TAIPEI TIMES》 Agencies order recalls of sake, red yeast rice

HEALTH RISKS: Red yeast rice ingredients from an Osaka firm might cause kidney problems, amid reports of over a dozen people being hospitalized

/ Staff writer, with CNA

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Two Taiwanese companies have been ordered to recall a sparkling sake product from Japan after it was found to contain an ingredient that might cause kidney disorders, the National Treasury Administration said on Sunday.

Japanese distiller Takara Shuzo Co was cited in foreign media reports as saying that it has issued a voluntary recall of a sparkling sake product containing red yeast rice supplied by Japanese drugmaker Kobayashi Pharmaceutical.

The Food and Drug Administration yesterday also issued an emergency recall of red yeast rice supplements from Kobayashi Pharmaceutical.

Takara Shuzo’s strawberry-flavored Mio Premium Rose sake has been on sale in Taiwan as a limited edition product since January, the treasury agency said, citing foreign news reports.

The product uses beni-koji — rice fermented with a species of red mold called Monascus purpureus — produced by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical.

The Osaka-based drugmaker on Friday said that its nutritional supplements containing red yeast rice might cause kidney problems after reports of 13 people having kidney problems, including six who required hospitalization.

The company yesterday said it was aware of 26 hospitalizations, but had “not yet reached a conclusion” on a potential link between the product and kidney issues.

“After analysis ... we found a possibility that the raw materials used to make beni-koji may contain ingredients that our company had not intended to include,” Kobayashi Pharmaceutical said.

As a result, Takara Shuzo is voluntarily recalling about 100,000 bottles of the sake it has sold, and is asking those who have bought it not to drink it.

There are no confirmed health risks associated with the sake, Takara Shuzo said.

Urging consumers not to consume the beverage, the administration said that two Taiwanese companies imported the sake and authorities would soon order a product recall.

About 80 percent of the beni-koji produced by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical was supplied to other companies, Japanese news reports said.

Japanese television network TBS Television said that the Japanese drugmaker sold its red yeast rice ingredients to about 50 domestic and foreign food and beverage producers.

FDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu （林金富） yesterday said that 56 batches of supplements from Kobayashi Pharmaceutical had been imported by two local companies since Jan. 1, 2022.

The importers have been instructed to recall the product, while further imports would be stopped at the border, he said.

Additional reporting by AFP

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES