Red Yeast Rice / Policosonal Complex and Cholestrix

Red Yeast Rice, / Policosonal Complex and Cholestrix

Warning Foreign Product
2007-152
On 25 October 2007
For Immediate Release

Health Canada advises consumers not to use the products described in the table below due to the risk of possible side effects. More info

Date of warning: On 25 October 2007
Source of the alert: Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (United States)
Product Name: Red Yeast Rice, Red Yeast Rice / Policosonal Complex and Cholestrix

Manufacturer, place of origin
Red Yeast Rice and Red Yeast Rice / Policosonal Complex sold by Swanson Healthcare Products, Inc.. (Fargo, ND, USA) and manufactured by Nature's Value Inc. and Kabco Inc.

Cholestrix is sold by Sunburst Biorganics (Baldwin, NY, USA)

Product Description
Red Yeast Rice, Red Yeast Rice / Policosonal Complex and Cholestrix sold as dietary supplements to reduce cholesterol.

Reason for caution
The U.S. FDA advises against the use or purchase of these products because they contain lovastatin, a prescription drug used to lower cholesterol, you should take only under the supervision of a professional of Health.

Possible side effects
Lovastatin is associated with serious side effects such as liver problems, kidney and muscle. It is not recommended for people with kidney or liver problems or vulnerable people such as seniors and pregnant or lactating. One should not combine lovastatin with other drugs such as cholesterol or antibiotics (erythromycin or clarithromycin) because the combination may increase the risk of drug interactions and serious side effects.

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Media Inquiries
Carole Saindon
Health Canada
613-957-1588

For more details on these alerts for products from abroad, please consult the Health Canada website.

The sale of this product is not authorized in Canada and it is not available on the Canadian market. However, it may be that Canadians have bought during a trip abroad, are imported into Canada for personal purposes or have purchased over the Internet.

We caution Canadians have this product do not use and consult a health professional if they are worried about their health.

The label of any drug or natural health product whose sale is permitted in Canada features a digital identification code of eight digits (DIN), a Natural Product Number (NPN) or a homeopathic medicine number (DIN-HM ). This code confirms that Health Canada has assessed the safety, efficiency and product quality.

Health Canada encourages Canadians to contact the Branch Inspectorate Health Products and Food at 1 800 267-9675, if they are on the market the product described in the table below.

Consumers seeking additional information on this notice may contact Health Canada at (613) 957-2991 or 1 866 225-0709 (toll free).

At the publication of this notice, no adverse effects that might be associated with the use of this product had been reported in Canada.