(Reuters) - Meal-kit delivery company Daily Harvest said on Tuesday it had identified tara flour as the ingredient that sickened hundreds of customers and led to a recall of its French Lentil + Leek Crumbles last month.
Daily Harvest, a direct-to-consumer brand, voluntarily recalled all of its French Lentil + Leek Crumbles in June due to consumer reports of gastrointestinal illness and potential liver function issues.
Tara flour was identified as the cause of the issue following more than a month of investigation alongside the Food and Drug Administration, doctors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, microbiologists, toxicologists and three independent labs, Daily Harvest's founder and CEO Rachel Drori said. (https://
"We have only used this ingredient in French Lentil + Leek Crumbles and we are no longer sourcing from this producer, who does not provide any ingredients for our 140+ other items," Drori said.
She said the company's investigation team will continue working with the FDA, the tara flour producer and others to help determine what specifically made people sick.
In June, the FDA said about 28,000 units of the recalled product were distributed to consumers between April 28 to June 17 and the company had received about 470 reports of illness or adverse reactions.
Launched in 2015, Daily Harvest counts celebrities such as Bobby Flay, Gwyneth Paltrow and Serena Williams as its investors.