Driscoll’s pesticide residue legal disputes in Canada

Driscoll’s is facing legal action following allegations that a significant portion of its berry exports to Canada exceeded national pesticide safety limits between 2022 and 2024. The controversy began with a lawsuit filed by former regulatory compliance official David Harada, who alleged that corporate leadership suppressed data regarding chemical toxicity and retaliated against him for raising concerns.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed that inspections of Driscoll’s products in Canadian grocery stores identified concentrations of bifenthrin, iprodione, and captane that surpassed legal regulatory thresholds. While federal regulators noted that these findings did not trigger official consumer recalls because corrective measures were implemented, the situation has escalated into a proposed class action lawsuit in the Superior Court of Quebec.

The class action lawsuit alleges that the company failed to inform consumers about the presence of these chemical residues in strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. The legal complaint claims that Driscoll’s discontinued a food safety and regulatory compliance monitoring system in 2022 despite being alerted to irregularities by the CFIA, RQA Inc., and various retailers. The proposed class includes individuals who purchased Driscoll’s berries in Quebec starting from January 1, 2022.