EPA Levies Penalties Against Three Companies for Illegal Antimicrobial Products
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fined three companies a total of more than $650,000 for importing unregistered and misbranded antimicrobial products. OnTel Products Corp., Forma Brands LLC and Loginet Inc. also failed to comply with federal reporting requirements for their products.
The agency’s mission includes protecting public health by ensuring that antimicrobial products are properly manufactured, labeled and distributed. EPA works with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to identify and block the entry of illegal products into the United States. In addition to paying penalties the companies are responsible for correcting the violations and complying with the reporting requirements of the federal pesticide law known as the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
“Antimicrobial products that are misbranded and unregistered may not actually be effective in countering public health threats, and may also pose a risk to users,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Director Amy Miller. “EPA prioritizes enforcement against manufacturers and distributors of illegal antimicrobial products.”
OnTel Products, a New Jersey corporation, imported numerous shipments of air-cooling products known as the “Artic Air Tower Evaporative Air Cooler” and the “Arctic Air Pure Chill Evaporative Air Cooler” into the United States through California. Although these products contained antimicrobial components and bore antimicrobial claims, they were not registered with the EPA and their labels included misleading language. The company also failed to file required reports under the FIFRA. Consequently, the company will pay a penalty of $638,624. In addition, OnTel has removed the antimicrobial components from the products and the misleading language from the labels, resulting in these products no longer being subject to FIFRA regulation.
Forma Brands, based in San Francisco, CA, imported a misbranded antimicrobial device called the “Morphe UV Disinfection Box”, and failed to comply with FIFRA reporting requirements. The company will pay a penalty of $22,083.
Loginet, out of the City of Industry, CA, imported and sold surface and skin disinfectant wipes called “75% Alcohol Wipes" that bore sterilizing claims but were not registered with the EPA. The company, which also failed to comply with federal reporting requirements under FIFRA, will pay a penalty of $17,666.
Products that claim to kill or repel bacteria or germs are considered pesticides and thus, under federal law, must be registered with the EPA prior to their distribution or sale. Before EPA can register a pesticide, the agency must determine that no unreasonable adverse effects on human health and the environment will occur when the product is used according to its label. The label must accurately represent the device or product being sold or distributed. Additionally, any company or distributor is required to comply with all reporting requirements under the law. Products not registered by EPA can be harmful to human health, cause adverse effects, and may not be effective against the spread of bacteria, viruses and other types of microorganisms.
For more information on EPA and pesticides, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides.
For more information on the FIFRA law and its enforcement, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-federal-insecticide-fungicide-and-rodenticide-act.
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