At some point in the not too distant future through the process of litigation, Daily Harvest, Stone Gate and Revive will be forced to both tell me the source of the Tara (and why they used it) and to provide samples to test. It does beg the question as to why they will not willingly provide the information and the samples now?

Through a private lab, we have been testing dozens of French Lentil + Leek Crumbles and Pineapple and Mango Smoothie samples – as has the FDA and presumably Daily Harvest and Revive. To date, we have not determined what in the Tara is causing all the illnesses. The hunt continues.

For those who have been following my blog the last two months, there is little surprise that Tara is the link to some or all the illnesses from Daily Harvest French Lentil + Leek Crumbles (and possibly other Daily Harvest products) and Revive smoothies – specifically, the Pineapple and Mango (which is not longer for sale).

To date we have been retained by over 350 acute liver failure survivors (some 30 left without a gallbladder) of Daily Harvest Crumbles (containing Tara), and we are investigating nearly another 30 Daily Harvest illnesses linked to other products. We have also been retained by nearly 30 people sickened by Revive Pineapple and Mango smoothies that also contained Tara.

Much more to be uncovered. I feel a field trip to Peru?

Early morning in wonderful Machu Picchu

Last week we filed two lawsuits against Revive (a Canadian company) in New York Federal Court. We have filed three lawsuits against Daily Harvest – one on behalf of a woman who lost her gallbladder and on behalf of two minor children – one an infant and one an 11-year-old.

Three lawsuits (two in New York Federal Court and one in New York State Court) have been filed against Daily Harvest and the company that manufactured the French Lentil + Leek Crumbles, Second Bite Foods d.b.a, Stone Gate Foods, that have been linked to nearly 300 cases of acute liver failure.

The first lawsuit filed by a Tulsa woman that purchased the Daily Harvest product on May 3 and consumed it on May 7. Later the same day, she began experiencing abdominal pain and gastrointestinal discomfort. She also suffered from right shoulder pain. The next day, she experienced more significant pain accompanied by nausea and headache. On May 9 her husband took her to the emergency room at St. John’s Ascension Medical Center.

At the Medical Center, she received pain medicine and had blood and urine tests along with ultrasound and CT scans. She was discharged with advice to pursue a bland diet. She again purchased the “French Lentil + Leek Crumbles.” from Defendant on May 17 and had them for lunch on May 28. By 7 a.m. the next day, she was again experiencing abdominal and shoulder pain. The pain was so severe by the next that she again required hospitalization.

Her hospitalization lasted four days, and it found that she was experiencing liver and gallbladder dysfunction. After consulting with her primary care doctor, she underwent surgery to have her gallbladder removed on June 24, 2022.

We did voluntarily dismiss this lawsuit to avoid – for now – an unnecessary fight over Daily Harvest’s “Terms of Service” where it is trying to force its customers to arbitrate vs litigate. More on this in the coming weeks.

The second lawsuit was filed on behalf of a 4-month-old baby and her mother became ill and were hospitalized after the mother ate the lentil-based product at the end of May and beginning of June, according to a lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York. Beginning May 25, the infant experienced vomiting, diarrhea, screaming and dark urine after her mother consumed the product and breastfed her, the lawsuit said. 

After consuming the product again in June, the baby’s mother was hospitalized with extreme abdominal pain and gastrointestinal distress from June 8 to 15, the suit said. At the time, the infant also began having symptoms including fever, vomiting and gastrointestinal distress, the suit said, adding the mother continued to breastfeed during her hospitalization on the advice of her doctors, who did not know the cause of her illness.

The infant was seen by a physician on June 24, where tests showed high liver enzymes and she was hospitalized on June 25 before being released the next day with ongoing testing and monitoring from experts, the lawsuit said. 

In a third lawsuit filed this week on behalf of a child, a father alleges his daughter became ill with symptoms including abdominal pain and elevated thyroid and liver enzyme levels. The lawsuit said a gastrointestinal and liver specialist told the girl the elevated liver enzymes could indicate a “potential lifelong, life-threatening illness” and that she could no longer participate in her soccer, the girl’s passion, because “an inflamed liver could lacerate while playing and be fatal.” The child’s liver function is being monitored, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court for the Southern District of New York.

Complaints:

https://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/files/2022/07/155840_2022_John_Looby_v_Daily_Harvest_Inc_et_al_COMPLAINT__AMENDED__2.pdf

https://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/files/2022/07/First-Amended-Complaint-filed-07152022-2.pdf

https://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/files/2022/07/Ltr-motion-to-file-2nd-Am-Comp-07152022.pdf