Toxin in Japanese supplement sparks debate on country’s functional food labels

ByAshok Patel

Red yeast supplements manufactured by Osaka, Japan-based Kobayashi Pharmaceuticals have been linked to five deaths and at least 266 hospitalizations in Japan as of the beginning of May, spurring a larger debate about the safety of Japan’s “functional food” labels, which are placed on products, such as fish oil, sold across the country. Kobayashi also…