The Japanese company Kobayashi Pharmaceutical announced today that it is investigating the cases of an additional 76 deaths possibly linked to the dietary supplements against cholesterolwhich contain red rice yeast in the context of a health scandal that has rocked the country for several months.

During a previous briefing on this matter in April, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical reported five deaths possibly linked to its products, which have since been withdrawn from the market. This initial number was subsequently revised down to four.

Therefore, the provisional total of suspicious deaths in this case stands at 80.

Many people who had consumed these dietary supplements, which appear to cause kidney problems, were also hospitalized.

“Even if the direct cause of hospitalization or death is not kidney disease,” it has “become clear” that in some cases consumption of the products in question had “indirectly” harmful effects on people’s health status, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical said in a statement. .

The company was not contacted about the issue until after mid-March, announcing the recall of three product lines, although it had received a first alarming report from a doctor on January 15.

In late March, the company said it had detected a toxic substance produced naturally by mold in batches of its recalled products.

However, the company and Japanese health authorities are still working to understand exactly why and how this massive health scandal happened.