Enforcement Related to Minimum Risk Pesticides

What if my product doesn’t meet all the requirements for the exemption, and I sell or distribute my product anyway?

If your product does not meet all the requirements of the minimum risk exemption, it must be registered unless eligible for some other exemption. There can be serious consequences for sale and distribution of an unregistered pesticide. EPA has the authority to take appropriate enforcement action where unregistered products make pesticidal claims. These include, for example:

• Issuing notices of warning.
• Issuing stop sale, use, or removal orders.
• Assessing civil and/or criminal penalties.

In addition, states routinely monitor the marketplace for compliance of pesticide products, including minimum risk products, with both state and federal pesticide laws. A state may:

• Take enforcement actions under their state regulations, if they find products out of compliance.
• Refer product claims that they have determined to be misleading to the Federal Trade Commission for possible additional enforcement action.