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A California lawsuit claims Driscoll's shipped millions of pounds of berries with non-compliant pesticide levels to Canada from 2022 to 2024, and a whistleblower says he faced retaliation.
A whistleblower lawsuit filed in California alleges that millions of pounds of Driscoll's berries containing non-compliant levels of pesticides and chemicals were shipped to Canada between 2022 and 2024, and that the company attempted to cover it up. The lawsuit was brought by David Harada, a former Driscoll's manager of food safety and regulatory compliance for the U.S. and Canada, who claims he was retaliated against for speaking up about the safety issues.
Whistleblower Alleges Widespread Violations
David Harada, a California resident and former Driscoll's employee, filed a lawsuit for unlawful retaliation against the berry giant. In the filing, Harada claims that by Driscoll's own estimates, about 50 percent of all shipments to Canada from 2022 to 2024 contained fruit that exceeded Canadian safety levels for pesticides and chemicals.
Harada told CBC News that he began noticing problems with pesticide safety and over-application in 2022 and reported them immediately to his superiors. He says he brought his concerns to upper management but was told it was something he would have to manage. In the lawsuit, Harada said he felt he was being set up to be the scapegoat for compliance issues and that he was being retaliated against for speaking up.
In an interview with CBC News, Harada said the problems became so frequent that he felt compelled to act. He recounted a conversation with his director about whether the company had plausible deniability regarding the issue. Harada was Driscoll's manager of food safety and regulatory compliance for the U.S. and Canada at the time.
Canadian Food Inspections Find Exceedances
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed to CBC News that it conducted several inspections on Driscoll's berries sold in grocery stores across Canada between 2022 and 2024 and found chemical levels above the legal limit in Canada. However, the CFIA said the inspections did not lead to recalls, or a corrective action was implemented and the investigations were closed.
Some investigations were also triggered after reports of suspected illness after eating Driscoll's blueberries, or by complaints of chemical taste and smell. The CFIA said the reported illness could not be definitively linked to the berries. In an email to CBC News, the CFIA stated that the cases involve different products, pesticide residues, importers and locations over a period of several years, and that the presence of the Driscoll's brand on the products does not, on its own, establish that the non-compliances originated from a single producer or source.
Recalls are issued if Health Canada determines that a product poses an unacceptable health risk. The CFIA's findings did not result in any recalls, meaning the agency did not consider the exceedances to pose an immediate unacceptable risk.
Expert Perspectives on Pesticide Residues
Stéphane Bayen, an associate professor in the department of food science and agricultural chemistry at McGill University, says berries are often found to have chemical residues above the legal limit. He noted that this is not completely abnormal, but it is not desirable and should be reduced. Bayen explained that a one-time exceedance of the maximum residue limit might not translate into a health risk for consumers, but the discussion needs to happen to ensure it does not become a regular occurrence.
Toxicologist Daniel Green says the levels of chemicals found in the CFIA-tested berries would not make someone sick from eating just a few. However, Green points out that the problem is the cumulative exposure to all other toxins combined over time from food and the environment. He believes the potentially tainted berries crossed the border because in 2022, Driscoll's removed the food safety and compliance tracking system it had for Canada in order to sell more berries there.
The lawsuit and the CFIA's findings raise questions about the effectiveness of food safety oversight for imported produce. Driscoll's, known for its tagline claiming to offer only the finest berries, has not publicly responded to the allegations. The case continues in California, while Canadian consumers may be left wondering about the safety of the berries they purchase.
Driscoll's Pesticide Residues Canada Whistleblower Lawsuit David Harada CFIA Food Safety
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