Health products containing red yeast rice ingredients produced by Japan's Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Company have so far caused 2 deaths and 106 hospitalizations. There are three main types of red yeast produced in China, namely wine-making red yeast, pigmented red yeast and functional red yeast.
Red yeast rice combined with corresponding traditional Chinese medicine is mainly used to treat diseases such as dyspepsia, vomiting, damp-heat and diarrhea. It can also be used for postpartum lochia, stasis, abdominal pain, and bruises.