Taiwan to order recall of Japanese sake due to potential health risks

Taipei, March 24 (CNA) Two Taiwanese companies will be ordered to recall a Japanese sparkling sake product after it was found to contain an ingredient linked to possible kidney disorders, the Ministry of Finance's National Treasury Administration said Sunday.

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

The strawberry-flavored Mio Premium Rose sake had been on sale in Taiwan as a limited edition product since January, the administration said citing foreign news reports.

This product uses "beni-koji," rice fermented with monascus purpureus, a species of mold that is red, produced by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical as a coloring agent.

The Osaka-based drugmaker announced on Friday that its nutritional supplements containing red yeast rice ingredients may cause kidney issues after reports of kidney problems from 13 people, including six who required hospitalization.

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

There have been no confirmed health hazards associated with the sake, according to the spiritmaker.

The National Treasury Administration said in a statement on Sunday that two Taiwanese companies imported the sake and the authorities will soon issue an order for a product recall, while asking consumers not to consume it.

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

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