OSAKA: Japan’s Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. said Thursday that it has decided to pull out of its business related to “beni koji” red fermented rice, following widespread health problems blamed on its supplement products containing the substance.

The company said that it will begin accepting applications for compensation Aug. 19 from people who experienced health damage after taking the supplements.

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical on Thursday posted a group net profit of 1,436 million yen for January-June, down 81.7 percent from a year before.

For the full business year to December, the company said that its net profit is expected to fall 40.5 percent from the preceding year to 12.1 billion yen. In May, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical withdrew its previous net profit estimate of 20.5 billion yen for the current year, in the wake of the beni koji problem.

“We have caused a situation that should not have happened,” Kobayashi Pharmaceutical President Satoshi Yamane, who took office Thursday, said at a press conference. Apologizing for the health issues, he said, “I feel strong responsibility.”

JIJI Press