Japan Halts Production of Diet Supplement Tied to 20 Deaths
Japan’s leading chemical company has halted production of a dietary supplement linked to about 20 deaths in the United States, a company spokesman said today.
The Showa Denko company began exporting L-tryptophan to the United States in 1983 and exports had jumped for the past four years, the spokesman said.
It also exported a small amount to Europe but did not market the product in Japan.
L-tryptophan--used to counter insomnia, depression and to control appetite--has been linked to about 20 deaths and more than 1,500 reports of illness in the United States.
The illness is a blood disorder called eosinophiliamyalgia, or EMS, causing muscle pain, swelling of the limbs and rashes.
L-tryptophan accounted for less than 0.2% of Showa’s total sales and suspending production will not harm profits, the spokesman said.
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