Daily Harvest Lawsuits: Why The Meal-Kit Service Is Being Sued Over Gallbladder Removal Surgeries

Following a recall late last week, Daily Harvest is now facing two lawsuits from consumers who claim they had their gallbladder removed after consuming its French Lentil and Leek Crumbles.

The meal-kit service company recalled its French Lentil and Leek Crumbles after a slew of people who ate the product reported illnesses. The recall notice said that the affected product could cause “gastrointestinal illness and potential liver function issues.”

Daily Harvest issued an updated statement on Monday, saying that after an investigation and toxicology testing, the results came back negative and it has no known cause for the linked illnesses.

But by Wednesday, a personal injury lawsuit was filed against the company by a Portland man who said he was healthy and without significant health problems before eating the recalled crumbles, CNN reported.

The man, Luke Wesley Pearson, claims in his suit that he became violently ill, required hospitalization, and had his gallbladder removed after consuming the Daily Harvest Lentil Crumbles, CNN said.

The lawsuit also contends that Daily Harvest doesn’t warn about the dangers of its products and “issued vaguely worded and insufficient warnings to its customers and influencers,” according to the news outlet.

In a second lawsuit, Carol Ann Ready claims she was hospitalized and had her gallbladder removed after eating the crumbles. In her complaint, Ready said she was sent to the emergency room twice after consuming the product two times. She was eventually diagnosed with liver and gallbladder dysfunction, CNN said. .

As of last week, Daily Harvest had received 470 reports of illnesses or adverse reactions related to the Lentil Crumbles.

In response to the outbreak, Daily Harvest founder and CEO Rachel Drori said in a statement, “I’m reaching out today to update you on everything that we are doing to get to the root cause of the issues that have been reported with our French Lentil + Leek Crumbles. We are working 24 hours a day, seven days a week on this. You deserve answers.

“I recognize this is so frustrating. I am incredibly frustrated,” she added.