According to several news reports and social media posts, a popular meal delivery service has recalled a lentil-based food product after days of customers posting online about gastrointestinal issues they faced after they ate the French Lentil + Leek Crumbles meal.
Daily Harvest posted a recall statement on its website Sunday. NBC News viewed an email it sent Friday asking a customer to throw away the lentils “out of an abundance of caution” and offering a $10 credit for every bag of the product that was purchased.
“A small number of customers have reported gastrointestinal discomfort after consuming our French Lentil + Leek Crumbles,” the email said. “As included in our cooking instructions, lentils must be thoroughly cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F.”
In its recall statement, Daily Harvest wrote that it “launched an investigation with internal and external experts throughout our supply chain and in accordance with regulatory procedures.”
On social media, Daily Harvest customers have posted about being hospitalized and having severe stomach pains. Luke Tashie, who shared his recall email from Daily Harvest, said in an email that he doesn’t believe the company is taking a serious or speedy enough approach to the situation. Tashie, who wrote that he had “extreme liver pain” and was hospitalized after he consumed the product, said he is concerned about long-term liver damage. “The surgeons that consulted with me were so perplexed that they seriously considered removing my gallbladder,” Tashie wrote.
Customers described the impact of eating the meal on Twitter and the Daily Harvest Reddit forum. Sarah Schacht, who received the dish and other lentil products from Daily Harvest, told Insider that she experienced gastrointestinal distress and stomach cramps, initially thinking she’d developed a food sensitivity. Schacht said she turned to Daily Harvest as a source of quick, healthy meals she could eat between her two jobs, but the illness has since kept her off work. “It’s really scary,” Schacht said of stories of others who ate the lentils and are now facing possible liver damage.