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A class-action lawsuit filed in Quebec Superior Court alleges Driscoll's berries contained pesticide residues exceeding Canadian limits, affecting consumers since January 2022.
A class-action lawsuit has been filed in Quebec Superior Court against Driscoll's, a U.S. fruit company, alleging that its berries contained chemical residues exceeding amounts allowed in Canada. The lawsuit claims the California-based company failed to inform consumers who purchased its strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries about the presence of pesticide residues or other chemicals. The proposed class includes anyone who bought Driscoll's brand berries in Quebec since January 1, 2022.
Allegations of Non-Disclosure and Misleading Representations
The lawsuit states that the failure to disclose critical information about the berries sold in Quebec was compounded by misleading representations surrounding the products. As a result, consumers were unable to make informed choices and may have been exposed to potential health risks without consenting to them.
The plaintiff is a Quebec woman who claims she consumed dozens of containers of Driscoll's berries since January 2022, including while pregnant in 2025. The lawsuit says she had always suspected pesticides were used in cultivation but expected residues to comply with standards. For her, as for any consumer, the fact that the berries contained pesticides in excess of regulatory thresholds is a significant issue.
The allegations in the proposed class-action lawsuit have not been tested in court. If authorized by a judge, there could be millions of class members, and the amount of compensatory and punitive damages has yet to be determined.
Driscoll's Global Operations and Canadian Retail Presence
Driscoll's is the world's largest berry distributor, shipping four billion trays of fruit annually to more than sixty countries, including Canada, according to the lawsuit. In Quebec, its products are sold at several retailers, including IGA, Maxi, Rachelle Berry, Provigo, Super C, Metro, Tradition, and Pharmaprix (Shoppers Drug Mart), as per the company's website.
The lawsuit follows allegations by David Harada, a former Driscoll's employee, who claimed in a June lawsuit that approximately half of the company's exports to Canada contained chemicals—including bifenthrin, iprodione, and captan—exceeding Canadian thresholds between 2022 and 2024. Harada, who started in September 2022 as an agronomist and later became director of food safety and regulatory compliance for the United States and Canada, estimates the value of potentially contaminated berry exports to Canada reached nearly US$100 million.
He was terminated on October 1, 2025, after alleging his employer's practice of exporting berries with pesticide residue exceeding allowed amounts in Canada. According to the lawsuit, the company had a system to monitor product safety and compliance with Canadian regulations, but that system was discontinued in 2022.
Regulatory Warnings and Health Concerns
The company was notified of irregularities regarding chemical residue levels on its berries by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), RQA Inc., and its Canadian buyers, but the lawsuit alleges it continued to market millions of pounds of berries in Canada despite knowing they exceeded regulatory limits for pesticides and certain other chemicals.
CFIA inspections at Canadian grocery stores between 2022 and 2024 allegedly confirmed that fruit sold by Driscoll's contained chemicals over thresholds authorized in Canada. The lawsuit says the agency received reports of potential illnesses from consuming Driscoll blueberries, as well as a chemical taste or odor in the fruit.
CTV News contacted Driscoll's for comment but had not received a response by publication time.
Driscoll's Lawsuit Quebec Superior Court Pesticide Residues Class-Action Canadian Food Inspection Agency David Harada Berry Exports
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