Social media influencers shared their harrowing experience online after consuming Daily Harvest's French Lentil and Leek Crumbles. Since May, Daily Harvest has received around 470 complaints about eating their lentil and leek crumble meal kit.
The company, a direct-to-consumer provider of vegan-friendly smoothies, bowls, and other foods typically shipped through the mail, announced a voluntary recall after the complaints. It has also stopped the production and distribution of the product while conducting an investigation in conjunction with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Los Angeles Times reports.
Complaints about French Lentils and Leek
Products like Daily Fresh rely heavily on social media influencers for promotion. However, in this case, influencers seem to point out the cause of their mysterious illness: the Daily Harvest's French Lentil + Leek Crumbles package they received before the product was publicly launched.
According to Cory Silverstein, who runs an organic skincare brand with his wife, he received Daily Harvest French Lentil and Leek Crumbles as part of a PR package in May. After eating the product, Silverstein said he experienced so much pain. He was rushed to the urgent care center as doctors were trying to figure out what was wrong. He tested negative for hepatitis, but his blood test indicates that his liver enzyme levels are 12 times the normal range.
The illness remained a mystery for weeks until he saw a post from fellow influencer Luke Wesley Pearson, a content creator from Portland. They noted the same symptoms like elevated liver enzymes and high bilirubin levels. They later realized that they both got a package of crumbles from the company before it was launched on the market. Pearson had to undergo an emergency procedure to remove his gall bladder on June 12. Pearson and Silverstein both had "excruciating stomach pains, fever, chills, itching of hands and feet, and jaundice after consuming the package, CNN says.
Abby Silverman, a creative director in New York, and Raleigh Candice Smith, the CEO of French Press Public Relations, also posted on social media that they exhibited the same disturbing symptoms. Like Pearson, doctors also had to remove Smith's gallbladder on June 19.
While most of the complaints stem from the Lentil and Leek crumble, there were also complaints about the company's flatbread, sparking concerns that there might have been cross-contamination of other products produced in the facility.
A mom shared that her children began vomiting two hours after consuming the flatbread. Initially, her kids complained that their stomachs hurt, but after three hours, the kids started vomiting.
Statement from Daily Harvest
Earlier this week, Daily Harvest first posted the recall through a link on social media that they have voluntarily recalled all French Lentil + Leek Crumbles due to consumer reports of gastrointestinal illness and potential liver function issues. It added that their investigation of the product is ongoing.
The company emailed customers who had received the crumble, telling them "to dispose of the product" immediately, as per the FDA website. The company's Instagram post received flak online as it simply used a promotional picture of the crumble and directed people to a link for the recall message. Daily Harvest had since removed the post.
The FDA would not confirm or deny if an investigation on the matter is planned or in progress.
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