Japan Halts Production of Diet Supplement Tied to 20 Deaths
- Share via
TOKYO — 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.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
Residents rebuilding the Palisades are furious at Mayor Bass. Their champion, Councilmember Traci Park, joins the show. Hear her plan for what’s next.
The LAPD called it a burglary. But the killer was a detective. Stephanie Lazarus almost got away with murder –until one clue betrayed her. Hear the shocking story. Listen now.
LA tried selling “canned smog” & drilling mountain tunnels to fix its air. But the real cost was deadly. Hear the full story of LA’s smog war on “Smoglandia.”
