Japan: Health Food Item Is Cancer Risk

The Japanese government has confirmed that the Japanese-made health food product “Kirin Agaricus Mushroom Granules,” which is imported and sold in the domestic market for supposed anti-cancer properties, may hasten cancer development instead.

Japan’s Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry called on Kirin Well-Foods Co. to halt the sale of all its products and recall them on February 13.

The Agaricus mushroom is widely popular with the reputation of being the “dream health food product” which supposedly increases the human body`s resistance to cancer.

When an academic magazine pointed out the possibility that the mushroom can damage the human liver, the health ministry asked the National Institute of Health Science to conduct virulence tests on products that are relatively more circulated with different production methods from different three companies.

Tests on animals showed that Kirin`s mushroom granules products help promote the activities of carcinogens. The final test results are not available yet for the Agaricus products sold by the other two companies.

Kwang-Am Cheon iam@donga.com