A Japanese supplement maker's Taiwan branch is facing a class-action lawsuit after dozens of consumers fell ill.
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00:00Are these nutritional supplements to blame for a series of sudden kidney illnesses across Taiwan?
00:05Over 30 people who say their health suffered after taking them have joined in a class-action lawsuit
00:10against the Japanese manufacturer's Taiwan branch, and they aren't ruling out a lawsuit in Japan if it can't pay.
00:16Dozens of people across Taiwan reported poor health after taking red yeast rice supplements
00:21made by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical earlier in the year.
00:24They join a string of consumers hospitalized in Japan,
00:27where five people are believed to have died after taking the supplements.
00:31Tests have found unexpected compounds.
00:33But while the product has been recalled since March,
00:36some say they've suffered irreversible damage to their health.
00:58Others who can prove they bought the product have until the end of July to join the lawsuit.
01:03The consumer rights group behind the suit says
01:05this is because not all consumers may have developed symptoms right away.
01:10Our damage may not be irreversible.
01:12We don't know what kind of damage will happen in the next few days.
01:17What we can do is raise this kind of group lawsuit to fight for consumers' rights.
01:24In a year of food safety scandals, this Consumer Protection Association wants to make it clear to companies
01:29that if they sell unsafe products, they will be held to account.
01:33Scott Huang and John Van Triest for Taiwan Plus
01:39www.taiwanplus.com