A proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed in Quebec Superior Court against Driscoll's, alleging that some of its berries sold in Quebec since January 2022 contained pesticide residues above Canadian limits. The suit follows allegations from former Driscoll's employee David Harada, who claimed in a June lawsuit that roughly half of the company's Canadian exports contained chemicals including bifenthrin, iprodione, and captan above permitted thresholds between 2022 and 2024 — with affected exports potentially valued at nearly $100 million. The class-action claims Driscoll's discontinued its compliance monitoring system in 2022 and continued marketing fruit in Canada after being notified of irregularities by CFIA and Canadian buyers.

Driscoll's disputes all allegations and says its berries are safe and that it uses testing and compliance procedures intended to meet Canadian regulatory requirements. None of the allegations have been tested in court. CFIA inspections at Canadian grocery stores between 2022 and 2024 allegedly found fruit above permitted thresholds, and the lawsuit also cites reports of potential illnesses and consumers detecting a chemical taste or odor.

This is a significant legal and reputational development for the world's largest berry brand. Canadian berry buyers and retailers should track the case's authorization process closely — if a judge certifies the class, the scope and visibility of the litigation will expand considerably.

Five Crowns Marketing's Daren Van Dyke says asparagus supply is down over 100,000 units year-to-date compared to last year in their current growing region alone. The problems are stacking: a warmer-than-normal winter in Caborca, Mexico cut early-season production; extended heat in southern Baja hurt quality and yields more recently; and Peru has been dealing with Super El Niño conditions for months. The result is fruit that comes out seedy, starts to feather, and has limited salvageable volume.

Hurricane Polo added another wrinkle last week. Growers are reporting some short-term delays and damage, but the longer-term concern is how the storm affected crop timing. In Mexico, growers force dormancy by cutting water rather than relying on freezes — so any disruption to that cycle can shift when product actually comes to market, potentially pulling volume out of planned windows like December.

Cooler fall temperatures should help supply and quality improve in the near term, and retail demand picking up should take some pressure off the market. But with Super El Niño conditions ongoing in Peru, the supply picture heading into winter remains uncertain. Buyers with asparagus programs built on either Baja or Peruvian origin should watch volume updates closely over the next few weeks.

Wildfires that swept through BC's Summerland area this summer are showing up in this fall's apple crop as smaller-than-normal sizing, particularly on early-season varieties. HG Produce's Gagan Grewal says the extreme heat accelerated fruit development — essentially pushing the season seven to ten days earlier across varieties — without giving fruit enough time on the tree to build size. Gala apples already picked are running small, and there will be more bagged product this year as a result. The company also lost some late-season peach production due to inability to pick in affected areas.

The good news: later varieties appear to be recovering. Ambrosia apples, currently being harvested, are showing larger sizing, and that trend is expected to continue through the rest of the season. Pricing is roughly in line with last year, which Grewal describes as a healthy benchmark, though there's still pressure to keep retail prices accessible enough to maintain consumer demand. Demand from retailers for new-crop apples is described as very strong heading into fall.

For buyers sourcing BC apples, the sizing story will be variety-dependent. Early varieties are the most affected — but if later varieties like Pink Lady come through at normal sizing, the overall program impact may be manageable. Worth monitoring final pack-out data as harvest wraps up.

USDA data shows California grape cold storage holdings hit 15,002,198 packages on September 30, 2026 — up from 13.3 million two weeks earlier and significantly above the 10.8 million packages recorded on the same date in 2025 and 10.2 million in 2024. White grapes account for the largest share at 9 million packages, with red grapes at 5 million and black grapes rounding out the rest. The year-over-year increase across all color categories is substantial.

This buildup comes at a sensitive moment. California's table grape season is winding down, and Chilean and Peruvian imports will begin arriving in the coming weeks. With storage volumes running nearly 40% above last year, the industry faces the task of clearing a significant inventory position before the market gets flooded with Southern Hemisphere fruit. Pricing pressure is a real risk if the drawdown doesn't keep pace.

Category managers handling grape programs should watch how quickly storage moves over the next four to six weeks. If holdings remain elevated as Chilean volumes ramp up in November, it could create a pricing squeeze. The elevated black grape holdings — more than double last year's levels — are also worth watching given that category's smaller overall market size.

C.H. Robinson, the country's largest freight broker and a major logistics player in produce, has announced a definitive agreement to acquire RXO — a Fortune 1000 tech-enabled transportation provider — in a stock-and-cash deal valued at $5.8 billion. The combined entity will carry an enterprise value of over $25 billion. C.H. Robinson expects to realize approximately $300 million in annualized cost synergies within two years of closing, through what it calls its Lean AI operating model.

For the produce industry, C.H. Robinson is already deeply embedded in fresh freight — handling refrigerated trucking, temperature-controlled logistics, and global forwarding for growers, shippers, and retailers across North America. RXO brings strengths in expedited shipping and last-mile delivery, which would expand C.H. Robinson's service footprint meaningfully. Together, the companies would form a more comprehensive multi-modal platform.

Consolidation at this scale in the 3PL space has ripple effects throughout the produce supply chain. As fewer large players control more freight capacity and routing, shippers' negotiating leverage on rates and service terms could shift. Worth watching how the integration affects reefer capacity availability and pricing as the deal moves toward close.

Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. of Chile has expanded its ongoing frozen berry recall to include specific lots of Trader Joe's Organic Mixed Berry Blend and Walmart's Great Value Organic Triple Berry Blend and Organic Blueberries. The Walmart products were distributed to stores in 30 states and Puerto Rico; the Trader Joe's product reached 26 states and D.C. This is the third recall expansion from this supplier since July 3, following earlier actions in September.

The E. coli O157 outbreak linked to these berries was declared over by FDA on September 21 after 17 confirmed illnesses and six hospitalizations. A Florida man also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Publix and distributor Quirch Foods after his wife died following consumption of recalled frozen blueberries. The latest expansion is precautionary, tied to traceback information from the original July recall, not new illness reports.

This recall has now touched multiple major retail banners over a three-month window. Buyers and category managers sourcing frozen organic berries from South American origins should expect continued consumer scrutiny — and it's worth monitoring whether additional lots or retailers are drawn into the investigation.