Is TikTox, Twitter and Reddit the new FDA and CDC as it relates to the Daily Harvest mystery? - Food Poison Journal

A lot of people say they have had liver complication and have had their gallbladders removed.

A number of people say they got sick after eating different Daily Harvest products, most commonly the recalled Leek and Lentil meals.

Doctors seem to have very few answers as to what is causing their illnesses.

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/foryou?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1 — TIkTok user posts about illness after eating Daily Harvest.

Twitter:

"I ate the Daily Harvest Lentil + Leek crumbles. I was lucky I didn't end in the ER. I felt really sick: fever, headache, stomach ache, nausea and severe bouts of vomiting. I was not able to eat. I spent 2 days in bed recovering. Daily Harvest response is a joke" — @sandrav_nyc, June 23 (Twitter)

"Thank you @bonappetit for your article on Daily Harvest. My Dr's and I were confounded by my sudden near death experience from liver failure. Your article gave us cause. I ate many of their products, not just the lentil crumbles. It is likely a deeper issue." — @vara_pappas, June 23 (Twitter)

Reddit posts:

"Two weeks ago I tried the crumbles for the first time. That night, I had debilitating stomach pain, like nothing I had ever felt before. It was so bad I had to go to the ER as a last ditch effort to alleviate and manage the pain. After a CT scan, IV, meds, and a week on a bland diet I thought perhaps it was some sort of bug.

Several days later I tried a flatbread from them and had a fever the next day. I thought it was related to the previous bout of illness.

Fast forward to yesterday, I decided to try the crumbles again. Lo and behold I am awake with the exact same horrible stomach pain. Luckily I have prescription meds from the last time this happened and do not need to go back to the ER.

The crumbles were the ONLY common denominator between the last stomach ache and this one. I believe this product has caused me debilitating stomach pain that has taken days to go away."

"Unfortunately a few hours after making this post I also came down with a fever of 101.8 that lasted over 12 hours despite me taking an NSAID. I also had severe muscle cramps and have been experiencing dark urine for 2+ days. I will be going to a doctor tomorrow for lab tests, just in case.

Thank you THANK YOU to those of you who have reached out letting me know about your situations. I have been majorly concerned about my health the last three weeks and this has been incredibly validating for me as I know it has been for a lot of you."

— u/hann2466, Wed. June, 15 (Reddit)

"I had these crumbles and was in the worst pain of my life for over two days. Still exhausted and cramping. Have not had a single response from DH, neither through email or chat." — FaithlessnessSorry44, Tues. June 21, (Reddit)

"My wife had her gallbladder removed. It's a bit more than that for sure…"

"Doctors did their best with the data they had; inflamed gallbladder and other bloodwork results…"

— Cdambola, June 20, (Reddit)

"Had an incredibly scary week last week and now I finally know why. Ate the crumbles Monday (June 13th) afternoon and immediately felt fatigued. By 4pm had a fever of 101 and chills. That night woke up with a fever of 103.3 and severe abdominal pain. Tried to eat a little something the next morning and threw up. Then noticed my urine was bright orange and I was SUPER itchy so I went to the ER. Had ultrasound and tons of lab work. The worst part of all this was waiting for the lab work to come back and thinking I was dying. Absolutely terrifying. Thankfully I have been improving but still fatigued and itching constantly. My husband found and article about the crumbles and I was like 🤯🤯🤯." — kowa5685, June 23, (Reddit)

"I had the exact same symptoms as you. I didn't go to the hospital but my husband did (he was in the worst pain of his life, and was admitted overnight). We didn't put two and two together until we saw the article. We have $10,000 of medical bills and only a canned response from DH. I reached out to the FDA and they're going to come collect a sample from the bag we still have some left of."

— madik81790, June 24 (Reddit)

"I am beyond livid.

My wife ordered the Daily Harvest lentil crumbles on May 11th and ate them (I didn't have any since, ironically, it was "her health thing"). For several days, she complained about weakness, sudden dizziness, and stomach pain, which she assumed might be gastritis. She had her annual checkup on the 20th and seemed generally healthy. Then on Saturday, May 21st, nearly a month ago, she noticed symptoms consistent with severe liver problems – extreme fatigue, dark urine, fever, and whole-body itching with no rash.

We tried antihistamines and hydrocortisone cream to no avail and spent Sunday speaking to advice nurses and begging for a quick doctor's appointment. Her bodywide itch grew maddening to the point where she couldn't sleep or focus on anything. She grew increasingly anxious that something was gravely wrong. We noticed a correlation between her symptoms and liver failure online and asked her doctor to order those labs on Monday. Waiting for the results was rough because she felt like she could barely get through the day.

Lo and behold – her AST, ALT, alkaline phosphatase, and bilirubin were off the charts. I mean, scary dangerous out of range. An abdominal CT scan was authorized and I rushed her in that day. I remember holding her hand in the waiting room. She hates it when I try to comfort her with things I couldn't possibly know, like, "It's going to be okay", so instead, I just said, "No matter what happens, we're going to go through it together, and I'll be here with you at every step".

We were about to leave the medical facility when a doctor called to report that her gallbladder looked distended and told us to get to the ER immediately for surgery. It feels destabilizing to believe that you've finally made it through the day's medical mystery drama and can go home to rest and catch up on the work you've missed, only to be told: no, you need surgery. Now. My wife started crying in the car.

I must've spent 8 hours in the ER waiting room that day. An MRI, ultrasound, and battery of more bloodwork later, we still didn't know what was wrong with her. Doctors debated whether they should remove her gallbladder, yet there was no gallstone or bile duct blockage present, only some sludge. She spent the next 2 days in the hospital, with crazy elevated liver numbers. Tests kept coming back negative for every viral infection under the sun, from Hepatitis A through E to cytomegalovirus. Also Alpha-1 antitrypsin, Immunoglobulin G, and many more. I continually refreshed the test results app on my phone with a mixture of hope and dread as results trickled in, but no answers.

It was a nightmare, especially because my wife has high health anxiety as it is. The surgery remained a possibility and we never knew when they might wheel her away. It felt nerve-racking to see the specialists continually scratch their heads because once you've ruled out the obvious possibilities, you're left with rare and devastating options. I had never experienced the utter helplessness of sitting beside an irreplaceable person I love without knowing what's going on or what to do about it. I worried they'd find anything from a cancerous tumor to a life-threatening virus. It was traumatic to both of us and I often had the urge to find a corner where I could privately weep and release the encroaching terror that I might lose her so suddenly, but my priority was to calmly support her and be on top of everything she needed while she freaked out about this out of the blue mystery illness.

Her numbers eventually started to trend downwards, though still way too elevated, so they cautiously released her from the hospital, with continued bloodwork and monitoring to come. Her numbers continued to slowly go down, except for a major spike in alkaline phosphatase, and have just reached the normal range almost a month later. In the meantime, the extreme fatigue and other symptoms have affected her work and our lives.

The not knowing has been especially difficult. Her gastroenterology specialist remained mystified at our most recent appointment and said the symptoms were consistent with some kind of severe viral infection. She's obviously avoiding everything from sugary foods to alcohol to acetaminophen. And we're still deeply concerned about long-term damage to her liver.

When the news came out today about the lentil crumbles, we couldn't believe it. At one point, we had said, "Could the Daily Harvest have been tainted with hepatitis A?", but then she was negative for hep A so we forgot about it. My best guess is that it might've been some kind of toxin, but we're still in the dark. The offending bag remains in our freezer, nearly full. We didn't eat it out of caution. It's beyond the pale that Daily Harvest has taken so long to release a stament of any kind.

Not only has it been a traumatic experience, but we now have several thousand dollars in medical bills pouring in, with yet more to come (her health insurance deductible is about $8k). You can bet we're going to be speaking to a laywer who specializes in food poisoning.

We're so dismayed to hear there are others who have been affected in this way. If you have any questions or would like to compare notes, I'm here to help." — Mortadeloue, June 20 (Reddit)

"So sorry! You're not alone. Very similar story, almost exactly, except they went ahead and removed my gallbladder. So, hoping no permanent liver damage was done, but removing an organ was pretty permanent. I sadly ate crumbles again a week after my gallbladder surgery (bc I didn't realize they were the sole culprit of my gallbladder attack) which sent me right back to the hospital with sky high LFTs. They have since been declining and thank God my antibody tests came back normal otherwise this could've triggered autoimmune hepatitis. None of us know yet if we have liver scarring or other long term issues, and need answers as to what actually poisoned us. This is VERY traumatic in every respect." — Consistent_Tangelo71, June 20 (Reddit)

"i had horrible GI issues earlier this year and was eating a DH regularly. i've been in and out of doctors appts and tests since and nothing. thankfully, i feel better now but it was months of pains, fever, sweating, itching and vomiting – sometimes all at once! unfortunately, none of the tests i took were liver related (mri, ct, colonoscopy, endoscopy, other urine and blood tests) so i cant refer to the number. i am so scared and, honestly, extremely pissed." — pretty_together, June 22 (Reddit)

"I hope your wife continues to improve

It's interesting to me that these crumbles are such an issue– I actually developed pretty bad gastrointestinal issues last month after eating Daily Harvest (not this meal). Had to cancel a trip, go on antibiotics, and get a gallbladder ultrasound. Gallbladder was contracted when it shouldn't have been, but ultimately my issues resolved after the antibiotics so I haven't done much follow up on it.

I think they have a major quality control issue going on" — anastasiafranzblau, June 22 (Reddit)

"Hi! My exact story is identical to this and I have no idea what to do now. After being discharged from the ER with the slew of tests, I have just been resting and slowly recovering. My liver area still has a dull aching pain and I am having my enzyme levels checked again. I'm so terrified of longterm effects.

I also would like to pursue legal action but have no idea where to start. I would love to compare notes – please DM me if you are open to it. Sending prayers for you guys as well!" — giantsopha, June 20 (Reddit)

I'm beyond horrified and heartbroken.

Please keep me in the loop." — FrenchPressMedia, June 21 (Reddit)

"I had the same issues. Been in and out of the doctor since the 8th, bloodwork all shows that my liver is going haywire. Fever itchy skin fatigue headache etc the works. No one could figure out what is going on, I'm seeing a specialist tomorrow and having imaging done on Friday. The DH recall email was SO SOFT I never imagined the two were connected until it hit the news." — NKLISRD, June 22 (Reddit)

I am so sorry you all had to go through this but thank you so much for sharing! I went through this too in late May.

"I cooked the lentils and added them to the butternut squash bowl. An hour later I had horrible diarrhea and took a shower to feel better. I then threw up in the shower (I know it's gross but I felt like I was dying). I had a bad migraine start after that and my urine was neon dark yellow for days. I thought I was just dehydrated from throwing up/diarrhea but all your experiences make me feel so validated that I wasn't crazy for thinking it was more than a migraine. I was so sick I couldn't move for days. I work from home and even opening my laptop was a battle. I slept for probably 18 hours a day, I got up to get water (only to throw it up) and that was it. It was awful. In hindsight I should have absolutely gone to the ER. At least then I would have some record of what happened and I could have evidence if this moves to a class action.

I'm still dealing with intermittent nausea almost three weeks later. I am so sorry that you all went through this as well! I didn't even correlate the two until I checked my email today. I'm beyond upset- the worst part was I never even meant to order the crumbles- they were added to my shipment as a "gift" because one of my bowls was sold out. Talk about a horrible gift. Wishing everyone affected healing ❤️‍🩹" — LooseNefariousness, June 22 (Reddit)

"This is almost exactly what happened to me after being given a free sample of the crumbles at a pop-up near my house. I purchased a bag on site and a few days later fell extremely ill almost exactly in the same way as your wife and others. I still have the bag and was not offered or even emailed by DH about this issue as I found out about this moments ago on TMZ." — VeeBKLA, June 22 (Reddit)

"My wife and I had an experience. Not as rough as y'all, but still terrible.

We both ate the crumbles and had mysterious symptoms. Itchy all over, but especially in our hands and feet. Moderate fevers around 101 or so. General fatigue, flu-like feeling. My urine was noticeably darker than usual.

We didn't make the connection and thought it might be some new strain of covid or something. Tried to shrug it off. But it wasn't going away so I called Kaiser's nurses line and went to urgent care based on their recommendation. The urgent care doctor didn't pay any attention to my symptoms except the itching and gave me a topical cream for scabies.

While I was at the urgent care my wife made herself lettuce wraps with the lentil crumbles.

The next day she was violently ill. She had crazy pain in her chest that she chalked up to gas. She threw up multiple times and I took her to the ER because the chest pain, coupled with throwing up seemed dangerous. She was also really faint and in pain all over. And itchy. Feverish.

The ER checked her heart and vitals. Tested her for various forms of the flu and covid. Those all came back negative. Pumped her full of saline. The best guess they could give her was a viral illness or possible food poisoning.

That's when we began to suspect the crumbles. Since it was the only new thing we ate and the only thing we didn't eat together (the second time she had them.)

She felt better for one day. Itchy, but not as ill – but by the nighttime the itchiness was back and it was so bad that she couldn't sleep. She went into a different ER, with an amazing doctor who took all of her symptoms much more seriously. The Dr. ordered blood work and narrowed it down to the liver. She didn't know the root cause, but prescribed my wife medicine to counteract the itching. My wife went and had her liver scanned which was scary as we were worried it would be cancer.

Then we saw the recall for "gastrointestinal distress." That term makes it sound like the crumbles are giving people bad gas, like olestra from a few years back.

This wasn't gastrointestinal distress, it was very serious food poisoning that forced multiple ER visits. & it's very scary not knowing if there are long-term issues.

My wife and I are still dealing with symptoms weeks later. She is going to share the articles and info with her doctor. Thanks for getting the word out." — tonytonytony, June 22 (Reddit)

"My pregnant wife went through exactly this and will be following the link you provided, thank you" — jkess04, June 20 (Reddit)

"OMG- I have had almost the exact same experience, this is surreal. Still doing testing as of day 13 as I'm still feeling unwell. All doctors have been baffled by this. Apologies, I'm new to Reddit but would love to connect somehow. Has anyone been able to determine what we ingested that is making us so ill?Dayna in CO." — DHWaterGirl, June 21 (Reddit)

"First, I'm so sorry for everything that your wife and others have experienced. Thank you for sharing all of this.

I had similar issues, but not as extreme from the smoothies! I thought it was me or the coconut water or anything else. I've been drinking their smoothies for a couple of years and been fine. The last order, I experienced horrible gastric problems. I felt the pain in my kidneys. It happened about 35 minutes after drinking the smoothies.

Now, learning about everyone's experiences with the lentils, I'm wondering if whatever is going on is happening in their other products.

ETA: my symptoms were stomach upset, vomiting, chills, sweating. It lasted about two days. I get regular blood work because of my every day problems. Most recent blood work post-smoothie problem showed elevated ALT." — Goodnight_goodlunch, June 23 (Reddit)

"My husband went to the ER 4 days after eating the lentil crumble and was found to have acute liver injury. His LFTs are still sky high 1 week later. This is crazy! We need answers" — SunnySide0228

"Question- has anyone had similar symptoms like this after having the smoothies?

I was drinking the cold brew and cacao smoothie for almost a month daily and i developed these exact GI symptoms being discussed. They were horrendous. Severe debilitating stomach pains and severe Diarrhea for 15 days. I could not eat any food!

This was in April and since then my stomach is still messed up! Nausea on and off. Diarrhea/Bloating as well. Went as far as to go to a GI Doctor and stool test came back from Capyhylobacter only which makes no sense as it does not cause long term symptoms?!" — Large_Care9147

"I've had the exact issues after eating the crumbles as everyone else: diarrhea, dark urine, extreme fatigue, nausea, severely itchy skin. Then I was constipated for a week. Went to urgent care after many days of symptoms. Bilirubin in urine, elevated liver enzymes, sonogram with a small nodule extending over my gallbladder. I was waiting to have additional blood work/MRI to see if my liver enzymes improved and test for cancer, etc BUT on this past Tuesday evening, I had the chickpea harvest bake for dinner. Right after dinner, I came across all the articles and social media about DH lentils Tuesday evening! I felt such relief knowing this was likely the cause of my unknown issues since I'd been so upset thinking it was Hepatitis of some sort or cancer or who knows?!! But this problem only gets worse. Wednesday morning I again had diarrhea, a migraine that wouldn't stop, severe nausea. I finally ate a yogurt at 7pm thinking this might be ok only to throw that right up. I'm positive there is more going on than just the lentil crumble issue! It made me recall ALL the times since last Sept 2021 that I can remember having food poisoning like symptoms. At least 1x in September, I didn't take notes in Oct or Nov, but it happened so frequently by December I started writing down dates and symptoms. These are only the dates I have documented but it's enough for me to feel incredibly confident they are likely tied back to eating DH. Each time I had the same symptoms-migraine, diarrhea, severe nausea, throwing up, extreme fatigue. Dec 10/11, Jan 5/6, March 3/4/5, May 25/26, June 1 until today 6/24. I don't eat DH all the time but I have it occasionally. This is no joke. There's something seriously wrong in their food, supply and/or processing facilities. I honestly don't believe this is limited to their lentil crumbles. Has anyone else had this type consistent, ongoing food poisoning like symptoms?" — Automatic_Food7146, June 24 (Reddit)

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