Kirin Well-Foods Co. will stop sales of and recall all of its products using the Agaricus mushroom due to a possible cancer risk, the company said Monday.
The decision by the wholly owned subsidiary of Kirin Brewery Co. came at the request of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
A recent test indicated the firm's Agaricus mushroom granules product may increase the risk of cancer in rats.
The Agaricus mushroom is sold widely in Japan as a health food product that supposedly increases the human body's resistance to cancer.
Kirin Well-Foods said it has sold 56,000 packages of the Agaricus mushroom granules since July 2002 and 370,000 packages of Agaricus pills since 1999.
The ministry said Monday a recent test on rats conducted by the National Institute of Health Sciences suggested that Kirin's mushroom granules product may lead to cancer.
The ministry has asked the institute to conduct similar tests on Agaricus products sold by two other companies. The final test results are not available yet, ministry officials said.