50% of Driscoll's berry shipments to Canada contained pesticide or chemical residue levels that exceeded Canadian limits.

[u/PeteWK67]

David Harada, a former Driscoll's food safety and regulatory compliance manager for the U.S. and Canada, has filed a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit claiming that from 2022 to 2024, roughly 50% of Driscoll's berry shipments to Canada contained pesticide or chemical residue levels that exceeded Canadian limits.

He alleges the company knew about the problem, removed internal compliance safeguards designed to prevent it, and failed to disclose the issue publicly. Harada says he repeatedly raised concerns with management and was ultimately pushed out after refusing to stay quiet.

Harada believes Driscoll's intentionally weakened its Canadian compliance system in order to sell more fruit into the Canadian market. He claims the company removed tracking measures that ensured enough time passed between pesticide application and harvest, allowing residues to decline below legal limits before fruit reached consumers.

Harada argues that millions of pounds of non-compliant berries crossed the border as a result and that consumers should have been informed. Driscoll's disputes the allegations and says it has robust food-safety programs and responded appropriately when issues were identified.

The chemicals involved included bifenthrin, iprodione, and captan.

This is rather common practice in a market economy that often relies on low quality behavior and corner cutting to maximize profit.

[u/InThaShower4]

And many American restaurants use these berries in your food…. Think about that