Kidney Failure Linked to Japan’s Kobayashi Pharma Benikoji Supplements Also Reported in Taiwan

By Masatsugu Sonoda / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

12:35 JST, March 29, 2024

TAIPEI — A Taiwanese woman suffered kidney failure after taking Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co.’s supplements containing benikoji red rice mold, the electronic edition of The China Times and other Taiwanese media reported on Thursday.

According to the reports, the woman, a 70-year-old from Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, has cholesterol problems and had been taking the supplements for a long time.

She was reportedly diagnosed with acute kidney failure after developing symptoms of diarrhea and abdominal pain in March last year. She is still undergoing treatment.