A class-action lawsuit filed in Quebec Superior Court accuses U.S. fruit giant Driscoll’s of selling berries containing chemical residues above the levels permitted in Canada, without disclosing the issue to consumers.
The lawsuit alleges that the California-based company failed to inform buyers of its strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries that the products contained pesticide residues or other chemicals. The proposed class covers anyone who bought Driscoll’s-branded berries in Quebec since January 1, 2022.
The lawsuit states that the lack of disclosure, combined with what it calls misleading representations about the products, left consumers unable to make informed purchasing decisions and potentially exposed them to health risks without their knowledge. None of the allegations have been tested in court.
Plaintiff and Scope of the Claim
The plaintiff named in the suit is a Quebec woman who says she consumed dozens of containers of Driscoll’s berries since January 2022, including while pregnant in 2025. The lawsuit quotes her as saying she had always expected any pesticide residues in the berries to fall within regulatory limits, and that finding out otherwise was significant to her as a consumer.
The suit claims there could be potentially millions of class members if a judge authorizes it to proceed. The amount of compensatory and punitive damages being sought has not yet been determined.
Driscoll’s describes itself as the world’s largest berry distributor, shipping four billion trays of fruit annually to more than 60 countries, including Canada. In Quebec, its products are sold through retailers including IGA, Maxi, Rachelle Berry, Provigo, Super C, Metro, Tradition and Pharmaprix (Shoppers Drug Mart).
Earlier Allegations From a Former Employee
The class action follows a separate lawsuit filed in June by David Harada, a former Driscoll’s employee who alleged that roughly half of the company’s exports to Canada contained chemicals — including bifenthrin, iprodione and captan — exceeding limits authorized in Canada between 2022 and 2024. Harada, who joined the company in September 2022 as an agronomist and later became director of food safety and regulatory compliance for the U.S. and Canada, estimated that the value of potentially contaminated berry exports to Canada reached nearly US$100 million. He says he was terminated on October 1, 2025, after raising the allegations.
The new class-action lawsuit alleges that Driscoll’s had maintained a system to monitor product safety and compliance with Canadian regulations, but discontinued it in 2022. It further alleges that the company was notified of irregularities in chemical residue levels by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), RQA Inc. and its own Canadian buyers, but continued marketing millions of pounds of berries in Canada despite knowing they exceeded regulatory thresholds for pesticides and other chemicals.
According to the lawsuit, CFIA inspections at Canadian grocery stores between 2022 and 2024 allegedly confirmed that Driscoll’s fruit contained chemicals above Canadian limits, and the agency received reports of potential illnesses linked to the company’s blueberries, as well as complaints of a chemical taste or odor.
Driscoll’s Response
In a statement to CTV News, Driscoll’s said it disputes the allegations and welcomes the chance to address them through the legal process, where it says the facts, data and expert analysis can be fully examined. The company said it is confident Canadians will see that it maintains comprehensive food safety and compliance programs that reflect how its business actually operates.
Driscoll’s said its berries are safe to eat, noting it sources fruit from dozens of independent family farms and uses testing, monitoring and compliance procedures designed to meet regulatory requirements in every market where its products are sold, including Canada. The company said it takes food safety seriously, invests significant resources toward ensuring product safety and quality, and remains committed to full compliance with applicable standards and to earning the trust of Canadian consumers.
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