Superior Court filing adds to growing list of legal challenges for world’s biggest berry brand
Berry brand Driscoll’s faces a further legal challenge with the prospect of a class-action lawsuit in Canada, one that alleges berries sold in the country contained pesticide and other chemical residues above permitted levels.
The company told CTV News that it disputed the allegations and welcomed the opportunity to address them as part of legal proceedings.
As the channel reported, the action was filed in the Quebec Superior Court and alleges the company failed to inform consumers about pesticide residues or other chemicals in the strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries they purchased since the start of 2022.
According to the report, plaintiff Sibylle Gauthier argued that consumers could not make informed purchasing decisions and may have been exposed to potential health risks.
Those allegations have not been tested in court and the proposed action must be authorised by a judge before proceeding as a class action.
Legal battles
The latest legal hurdle comes after allegations were raised by former Driscoll’s food safety and regulatory compliance employee David Harada, who filed a lawsuit in California in June.
Harada claims that around half of the company’s exports to Canada between 2022 and 2024 contained chemicals including bifenthrin, iprodione, and captan above Canadian limits.
He also alleges he was dismissed after raising concerns. Driscoll’s disputes Harada’s allegations concerning its compliance practices.
The Quebec action comes amid other pending cases, including proposed class actions in California and Washington DC which remain subject to litigation.
Fruitnet reported in May that Driscoll’s had defended its compliance record following separate testing claims concerning its strawberries, saying its products complied with food safety regulations.
In September, Fruitnet published an exclusive interview with the group’s global chief marketing officer Jiunn Shih, who said the company had multiple layers of food safety oversight, including residue testing, third-party certification and independent audits.
