Top executives at Japan's Kobayashi Pharmaceutical resigned on Tuesday following revelations that a health supplement the company sells may be linked to 80 deaths. President Akihiro Kobayashi and Chairman Kazumasa Kobayashi both belong to the company's founding family.

The scandal revolves around over-the-counter tablets meant to lower cholesterol. A damning external report funded by the company found that leadership had acted with an "insufficient sense of urgency" over consumer safety risks.

The tablets in question are made with red yeast rice or "beni koji," which is fermented with mold cultures. While a a common ingredient in east Asian food and drink for centuries, it can promote organ damage depending on its chemical makeup.

Company acted too slowly, audit finds

Consumers first raised the alarm in March, with many complaining of kidney ailments. This prompted a government investigation and revelations that a potentially toxic acid was being produced by the mold at one of its factories.

At the time the government called Kobayashi's delay in reporting the number of cases under investigation "extremely regrettable."

Kobayashi is a household name in Japan, a country with a reputation for high consumer protections.

The external report published Tuesday condemned the company, saying it had "never before received multiple reports of serious cases from doctors in such a short period of time."

The company should have recalled the products immediately and reported the incident, but it only decided to do so after an internal investigation process, the lawyers conducting the audit wrote.

es/rm (AFP, Reuters)