Red yeast rice supplements, which contain a statin-producing mold, are not recommended,3624 as “dramatic” variations in the active components have been found (for example, hundredfold differences in lovastatin levels). Also, a third of retail red yeast rice supplements tested were contaminated by a potential kidney-damaging fungal toxin called citrinin.3625 An updated 2021 analysis found citrinin exceeding safety levels in 97 percent of sampled supplements, including supplements labeled “citrinin-free,” posing a “serious health concern.
