Tara flour caused mysterious illness that sickened hundreds, Daily Harvest says

Tara flour is behind the mysterious illness that afflicted hundreds of Daily Harvest customers last month, prompting a recall of the company’s French Lentil + Leek Crumbles, officials with the meal-kit delivery service said Tuesday.

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In a blog post, Daily Harvest CEO Rachel Drori said the company identified the culprit following extensive testing and consultations with the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, doctors, microbiologists and toxicologists.

“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.

“This was the first and only time we’ve used tara flour, which has been available and used in the North American market as a plant-based source of protein prior to our use.”

Tara flour is made from the seed of a tree native to Peru, according to Bloomberg. It is sometimes used as a thickening agent in vegan recipes, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Daily Harvest issued a voluntary recall last month of its French Lentil + Leek Crumbles after customers complained of gastrointestinal and liver issues, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Between April 28 and June 17, about 28,000 bags of the crumbles were distributed nationwide through Daily Harvest’s delivery service, at the company’s store in Chicago and at a pop-up store in Los Angeles. Some people had also been sent samples of the crumbles, which were meant to replace meat in a variety of dishes.

Company officials said they had received about 470 complaints of illness or adverse reactions by June 23 and advised customers to throw them away if they had any of the bags left.

“Our investigation team will continue working with the FDA, the tara flour producer and others to help determine what specifically made people sick,” Drori said Tuesday.

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