(Bloomberg) -- Japan’s Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. expects to spend more than 1.8 billion yen ($12 million) on a recall for health supplement products that have so far left five people dead and 114 hospitalized, the company said on Friday.

The maker of health supplements and other drugstore products will compensate roughly 680 consumers who reported health problems after using the product made with red yeast, including medical treatment costs, President Akihiro Kobayashi said at a news conference in Osaka, where the company is based. 

Kobayashi is one of Japan’s biggest makers of health products — selling everything from eye drops and skin creams to room deodorant and cotton balls — with a market value of ¥396 billion ($2.6 billion). A week ago, the company announced a recall of a cholesterol-reducing supplement using red yeast, as well as other products using the ingredient. Kobayashi’s stock has declined 16% since then. 

“We deeply regret that this has become a social issue,” Kobayashi said.

The company also said it has discovered puberulic acid, usually viewed as a poisonous substance, in the recalled products and it’s still looking into the relation it bears with the deaths and illnesses. 

Red yeast, whose scientific name is monascus purpureus, has been used for more than a millennium to make red rice wine and foods, and also as a pigment, including adding a red hue to Peking duck. Because the ingredient produces statins, which can help lower cholesterol, it’s been marketed as a health supplement. 

Kobayashi said it received the first report of a case on Jan. 15. Asked whether the company was late in responding, the president said he would make a sincere effort to look into the matter. The number of telephone lines to handle inquiries is being expanded, and will reach 280 by April 4, he added.

Because Kobayashi supplies red yeast to other companies, other products are also being impacted. Convenience-store chain FamilyMart Co. recalled three products, including bento lunchboxes. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said Kobayashi supplied the ingredient directly to 52 companies, which in turn ended up in products at 173 businesses.

The issue has affected people outside of Japan. A Taiwanese woman in her 70s developed kidney failure after taking supplements made with Kobayashi’s ingredient, United Daily News reported. DHC, a supplements provider, also suspended sales and recalled products sold in Taiwan.

(Updates the story with new material throughout.)

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.