Are the raspberries in my fridge OK to eat? What to know about chemical levels on Driscoll's berries

A former employee for California-based Driscoll's alleged in a lawsuit that about half of the company's berry exports to Canada contained pesticide levels that exceeded Canadian Food Inspection Agency standards. (Gloria Henríquez/CBC News)Social SharingYou may be having second thoughts about eating the berries in your fridge after CBC News spoke with a whistleblower who made a startling claim about the amount of chemicals on fruit that a U.S. company allegedly shipped to Canada.

David Harada, a former employee for California-based Driscoll's, alleged in a lawsuit that about half of the company's exports to Canada contained pesticide levels that exceeded Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) standards.

Driscoll's supplies raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries that are largely grown in California and Mexico, but with some products coming from other places seasonally — including parts of Canada.

Harada says the excess chemical levels were due to over-spraying and the removal of food safety compliance parameters for berries sent to Canada.

The CFIA confirmed higher-than-permissible levels of pesticides on the company's berries. Driscoll's has said that it's amended its controls to comply with Canadian standards.

But that may not be enough to put some Canadian consumers' minds at ease, especially parents. Meanwhile, food safety experts say this has prompted an important conversation about the chemicals used on the produce we eat.

Here's a quick look at what you need to know.

Harada's lawsuit alleges that millions of pounds of berries with chemical levels exceeding CFIA guidelines were imported between 2022 and 2024, so it's highly unlikely those would have survived in your fridge since then — and you certainly shouldn't eat them if they are still in there.

Maria Corradini, an associate professor in the University of Guelph's food sciences department, says the chemical compounds sprayed on produce do degrade over time.

But the issue, she says, is ensuring that the right amount is applied and that enough time has passed so that there isn't leftover residue come harvest time.

Environmental toxicologist Daniel Green says that even if you actually consumed berries with higher than permissible levels of chemical residue, it probably wouldn't be enough to harm you.

You would likely need to eat something like 19 kilograms of berries in a short period of time to really feel any adverse effects.

"This issue isn't one serving of berries," he told CBC Montreal's Gloria Henríquez, explaining that it's like "one speck" of the chemicals to which people are exposed in their daily lives.

The three chemicals found were bifenthrin, iprodione and captan.

Iprodione is used to prevent and control mould, mildew and stem and root rot on a variety of crops. Captan is also a fungicide that is used on field, greenhouse and orchard crops.

Bifenthrin is an insecticide that accounts for more than a quarter of commercially used pesticides globally. In addition to various produce, it is used on certain flowers, shrubs and trees. It attacks insects by targeting their nervous systems, eventually paralyzing them and causing death.

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Bifenthrin is considered to be of low toxicity to humans, though large quantities can induce adverse effects, including headaches, dizziness or skin or nasal irritations when inhaled, or a sore throat, nausea and vomiting if ingested.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also classifies it as a possible human carcinogen, but only based on incidences of tumours in mice.

However, Corradini says that workers on berry farms would be more likely to face any sort of health risks from acute exposure.

It may not do much, Corradini says, especially when it comes to berries, because of how soft they are and all of the tiny crevices in their skin.

She says there have been some studies showing that soaking them for a few minutes in a mixture of water and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) may help, but that there's not enough evidence to conclusively say it's effective.

Buying organic is your best bet in avoiding these chemicals, but it's not foolproof, Corradini says.

"If you are in a facility that is having half of the production organic and half not, well, there is always a risk that there is a mistake," she said.

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She also pointed out that chemical pesticides are why fruits and vegetables can be grown so plentifully and at a relatively affordable cost.

Organic crops, she says, may also be more prone to infestations. And like non-organic produce, organic foods are not immune to pathogens and parasites that can cause food-borne illnesses such as E. coli and norovirus.

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Driscoll's says that it "never knowingly shipped product that we believed to be unsafe."

Harada's lawsuit is still in progress and the company wouldn't comment on it other than to deny his allegations.

Driscoll's is also facing a separate class-action lawsuit filed earlier this year by six plaintiffs living in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Illinois.

SFGate reported that the suit accuses the company of consumer fraud and deceptive practices by allegedly "greenwashing" the amount of so-called forever chemicals, known as PFAS, on its strawberries.

Nick Logan is a senior writer with CBC based in Vancouver. He is a multi-platform reporter and producer, with a particular focus on international news. You can reach out to him at nick.logan@cbc.ca.