Mamavation Finds PFAS-Laden Pesticides in Driscoll's Strawberries

Mamavation tested organic and conventional strawberries from Driscoll’s for 500+ types of pesticides at our EPA-certified laboratory and found PFAS-laden pesticides, also known as “forever pesticides,” in conventional strawberries. What does this mean, and what should your family do when shopping to ensure your own safety? You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you other investigations like sourdough breads tested for glyphosate, cooking oils tested for phthalates, and safest teas tested for PFAS, “forever chemicals.” Now join us for our latest investigation on Driscoll’s strawberries and pesticide residue.

Disclosure: Scientific review was performed by Dr. Craig Downs, Executive Director of Haereticus Environmental Laboratory. Donations were provided by Environmental Health News and Mamavation community members. Note that Mamavation has only “spot-checked” the industry and thus we cannot make predictions about brands and products that we have not tested. Products and manufacturing aides can change without notice so buyer beware. This post contains affiliate links, with some to Amazon, which means Mamavation will receive a portion of those sales and we will use that to pay ourselves back for the testing. You can also give a tax-deductible donation to our consumer studies here through Environmental Health Sciences. Thank you!

Table of Contents

Mamavation’s Laboratory Finds PFAS-laden Pesticides in Driscoll’s Strawberries

Mamavation sent two boxes of Driscoll’s strawberries from a grocery store in Southern California to our EPA-certified laboratory, requesting testing for 500+ pesticides on Monday, May 4th, 2026. The results were a bit shocking. According to our laboratory, Driscoll’s conventional strawberries contained residues of 12 different pesticides at levels prohibited in the European Union, Taiwan, Chile, Korea & Russia. 8 of those pesticides are considered PFAS “forever chemicals,” meaning they are extremely persistent and highly toxic. These pesticides are also known as “forever pesticides.”

Driscoll’s Conventional Strawberries — 12 pesticides found

PFAS-Laden Pesticides (aka “Forever Pesticides”) Found on Driscoll’s Conventional Strawberries

Flonicamid (sum): 32 ppb
Fludioxonil: 60 ppb
Flupyradifurone: 27 ppb
Fluxapyroxad: 26 ppb (limit also exceeds Russian standards)
Indoxacarb: 25 ppb (limits also exceed EU, Taiwan & Chile standards)
Novaluron: 19 ppb (limits also exceed EU standards)
Tetraconazole: 13 ppb
TFNG: 35 ppb

Other Types of Pesticides Found on Driscoll’s Conventional Strawberries

Cyprodinil: 125 ppb
Pyrimethanil: 310 ppb
Quinoxyfen: 45 ppb (limit also exceeds Korean standards)
Tetrahydrophthalimide (THPI): 302 ppb

Driscoll’s USDA Organic Strawberries

Non-detect

Dr. Craig Downs, Executive Director of Haereticus Environmental Laboratory, had this to say after his review: “Fluorinated pesticides are a growing source of PFAS contamination in the environment and on and in our foods. There is debate with the U.S. EPA if single fluorinated pesticides are truly Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), but many of the fluorinated pesticides’ metabolites are long-lived to the point they are considered “Forever Chemicals.” These fluorinated pesticides also act like PFAS because they will accumulate in our bodies over the long-term, are associated with cancer risks, reproductive diseases, developmental diseases in children, and cause immune suppression. It would be smart to try to completely avoid being exposed to them.”

Recommendations From Mamavation Advisors

Mamavation advisors recommend you stick to organic strawberries if you want to lower the amount of pesticides and PFAS you consume when purchasing produce. 37% of non-organic produce samples tested by the State of California had traces of PFAS pesticides.

If you are concerned about the pollution caused by nearby pesticide use, the best thing you can do is purchase a water filter for your kitchen tap and an air purifier for your home. You can control what happens inside your home far more than outside your home.

Here’s our recommended water filter brands based on PFAS filtering:

AQUA TRU Countertop Water Filtration Reverse Osmosis — This link will automatically deduct $100 from the unit price at checkout.
Clearly Filtered Water Filter with Affinity Filtration Technology — This link will deduct 10% off the purchase. (They also have a refrigerator filter!)

Here’s our recommended air purifiers:

Air Doctor (This link will save you a ton of money!)
Air Oasis iAdapt Air 2.0
Austin Air Healthmate Plus Air Purifier
IQ Air GC Multi-Gas Air Purifier

PFAS “Forever Chemicals” Have Problematic Health Effects

PFAS “forever chemicals” are problematic for human health and the environment. They are considered ubiquitous, persistent, and toxic. Many of these PFAS chemicals can last for years or decades in our bodies. Therefore, it’s imperative to reduce the amount of PFAS you are exposed to from food, water, and consumer products. Mamavation is dedicated to helping you do that when you are shopping for strawberries.

Here are some of the health effects of different PFAS “forever chemicals.”

It’s also very clear based on biomonitoring evidence from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) that PFAS are in all Americans. Therefore, these exposures can harm most Americans.

EWG Finds 14 Million lbs. of PFAS “Forever Chemicals” Sprayed on Non-Organic Farmland in California

California produce has a PFAS “forever chemical” problem. Researchers at The Environmental Working Group (EWG) combed through official data from California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation to ascertain how many millions of pounds of pesticides were sprayed on crops in California. After studying all the pesticides, including herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides, which are widely used in the state’s most productive farmland, they were able to create an interactive map.

EWG then reviewed data from the California Pesticide Residue Monitoring Report to find which produce was most affected by PFAS contamination according to California’s own testing. They found that almost 40% of non-organic fruits and vegetables grown in California were contaminated with PFAS.

Strawberries are just an example of this problem. In fact, strawberries contained 10 individual PFAS pesticides, more variety than any other crop. We found 8 of them in our own testing, which has just been released.

California Legislation to Ban PFAS in Pesticides Needs Your Attention

Right now, the California Assembly’s leadership will decide if AB 1603, a bill that bans PFAS in pesticides, will move forward. This bill will put a stop to the dumping of PFAS pesticides on crops and fields and reduce PFAS contamination of California-grown produce, such as strawberries.

How You Can Help

The full California Assembly needs to hear about your support of AB 1603 in order to pass this important piece of legislation this year.

All California assemblymembers need to receive phone calls ASAP, urging them to support AB 1603 and end PFAS use in pesticides for good!

So please contact your Assemblymember and urge them to support AB 1603 and end PFAS pesticides.

You can find your Assemblymember here.

Mamavation Finds PFAS-Laden Pesticides in Driscoll’s Strawberries