Fact check: In 2022, some Daily Harvest customers reported getting sick and needing to have emergency surgery after consuming the company’s French Lentil and Leek Crumbles

1. Summary of the results

The original statement is accurate but significantly understates the scale and severity of the incident. FDA documentation confirms that 393 people across 39 states reported adverse reactions to Daily Harvest's French Lentil and Leek Crumbles, with 133 hospitalizations ^[1]. The situation was even more severe than initially presented, with 30 people requiring gallbladder removal surgeries ^[2]. A University of Minnesota study found that 31% of the 338 cases they studied resulted in hospitalization ^[3].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several crucial pieces of context were omitted from the original statement:

• Scale of the Issue: The total number of affected customers ranged from 393 to approximately 470 according to different sources ^{[1] [4]}
• Cause Identification: Daily Harvest identified tara flour as the likely source of the illnesses, leading to a voluntary recall on June 17, 2022 ^[5]
• Specific Health Impacts: Customers experienced:
• Gastrointestinal illness
• Liver dysfunction
• Bile duct issues
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Jaundice
• Elevated liver enzymes ^[3]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement significantly understates the magnitude of the incident by using vague terms like "some customers." Specific examples that demonstrate the severity include:

• Carol Ann Ready from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who required gallbladder removal ^{[5] [5]}
• Luke Pearson, a 30-year-old content creator who needed gallbladder surgery ^[4]
• A Cosmopolitan digital creative director who ended up in the ER after consuming just a few spoonfuls ^[5]
• Ashley Stewart, who experienced severe medical complications ^[6]

While the statement isn't technically false, it significantly downplays what was actually a major food safety incident affecting hundreds of people across the United States. This type of understated presentation could benefit Daily Harvest by minimizing the perceived severity of the incident and potential legal liability.