![]() The FDA declined to make officials available for an interview. “This is something that has grown very quickly, and the federal regulatory agencies have not been able to keep pace,” said Mitzi Baum, the chief executive of the nonprofit Stop Foodborne Illness. That exemption, originally designed to apply to grocery stores and restaurants, now applies to many new meal delivery companies that sell directly to consumers from websites and do not stock their products in grocery stores. law, most companies that make a majority of their income by selling directly to consumers are regulated by state and local governments, rather than by the FDA. ![]() Revive, which did not respond to requests for comment, has not recalled the smoothie but is no longer selling it online, Marler said. Marler is also representing 29 people who reported similar symptoms after drinking a pineapple-mango smoothie sold by one of Daily Harvest’s competitors, Revive Superfoods. Why the flour would have sickened people is still unclear she said testing revealed that the ingredient was not contaminated with poisonous molds, pesticides, heavy metals, or foodborne pathogens such as E. In a July 19 email, Chief Executive Rachel Drori told customers that Daily Harvest used tara for the “first and only time” in the lentil crumbles. The FDA has not confirmed that finding, and Daily Harvest did not respond to questions about how the company isolated tara as the tainted ingredient. “Not knowing what it is that’s making people sick is creating a lot of anxiety.”įive weeks after the recall, Daily Harvest told customers that they had been sickened by an ingredient called tara flour, made from the seed of a tree native to Peru. “This obviously is a severe case,” Marler said. Marler is also representing a mother who was hospitalized for a week with severe abdominal pain, as well as her 4-month-old daughter, who suffered from diarrhea, vomiting and elevated levels of liver enzymes after being breastfed. He said 26 people have had their gallbladders removed and eight had liver biopsies.įood Daily Harvest hit with lawsuit by woman who blames company for gallbladder removalĪfter 470 people reported cases of illness related to a Daily Harvest menu item, the company’s CEO says, ‘I recognize this is so frustrating.’ Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney who specializes in foodborne illness, is representing 356 people, including 34 Californians. More than 470 people have now reported symptoms. Stories about mystery symptoms snowballed on Reddit and Instagram. Less than a month after the product launched, customers began to complain of jaundice, full-body itching, severe abdominal pain and gastrointestinal problems. Made of legumes, mushrooms and butternut squash, the French Lentil + Leek Crumbles were designed to be sautéed and used as a substitute for ground meat in dishes such as pastas, salads and tacos. In an email, a representative said the company’s recall had been a success, as “no one has reported to Daily Harvest that they unknowingly ate the product after June 17, the date the recall was announced.” The latest reported onset of symptoms was July 16, the FDA said. “They were organic, vegan, sustainably packaged, all these supposedly great things, so I just trusted that it was healthy,” said Alyssa Mera, 29, a commercial real estate agent in San Diego County who was hospitalized with excruciating abdominal pain after eating the lentil crumbles twice.ĭaily Harvest did not respond to questions about where its foods are manufactured or how the firm is regulated. ![]() health officials to understand the scope of foodborne illnesses among meal delivery customers. They warn that rapid changes in the meal delivery industry, combined with the slow pace of federal regulation and the inherent uncertainty of mailing perishable food, have in effect made it impossible for U.S. There is little consistency in how the firms are inspected and regulated at the state and local level, experts say. The firms are also not required to follow a slew of FDA safety requirements that aim to limit the spread of foodborne illness, ensure sanitary conditions during shipping and improve supply-chain transparency. consumers, very few are required to register with the FDA. Of the hundreds of companies that ship ready-to-heat meals or recipe kits to U.S. The outbreak has shone a light on something that few consumers know: Most meal delivery companies are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The Daily Harvest case is the first widespread instance of foodborne illness reported in the $15-billion meal kit industry, which surged in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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