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EPA seeking $341,000 from Hawai'i company for selling illegal pet products

Release Date: 9/30/2004
Contact Information: Dean Higuchi, (808) 541-2711

Part of three-state action totalling $748,0000 in penalties

SAN FRANCISCO - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking penalties of up to $341,000 from Pang & Son, a company in Honolulu, HI, for allegedly selling and distributing unregistered and misbranded pet products, a violation of federal pesticide law.

The EPA is also seeking penalties of up to $357,000 against Rizing Sun, LLC located in Peoria, AZ. The EPA and Tidalwave Distribution, Inc., of Torrance, Calif., also have recently settled an enforcement action for $50,000.

The total penalty of the three enforcement cases amounts to $748,000 in fines against sellers of counterfeit, mislabeled, and unregistered pet products in the three states.

The EPA fined each company for illegally selling and distributing unregistered versions of "Frontline" and /or "Advantage" -- popular flea and tick control products used on dogs and cats. The counterfeit pesticides appear to have been unlawfully imported and packaged in retail cartons designed to look similar to legitimately registered pesticides sold in the United States.

State and federal inspectors discovered the illegal products at various retail stores in Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Georgia, California and Oregon and traced the products back to the three companies.

"We are keeping a close watch throughout the Western U.S. and beyond to penalize companies that are producing and selling illegal pesticides," said Enrique Manzanilla, director of the EPA's cross media division for the Pacific Southwest region. "These products can endanger pets and their owners and undercut legitimate businesses that have registered their products and included the proper safety labeling. The EPA will continue to pursue those trafficking in illegal pesticides."

Earlier this year, the EPA ordered 56 companies in seven states to stop selling unregistered pesticide pet products. "Stop Sale" orders were issued to retailers and distributors in California, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

The EPA's pesticide regulations require registration and approved labels on all pesticide products before they are sold in the United States. Pesticides registered with the agency have an EPA registration number on the label.

The EPA will not register a pesticide without information that shows it will not pose an unreasonable risk when used according to the directions. The agency ensures that pesticide labels provide consumers with the information they need to use the products safely.

For more information, visit the EPA's Web sites on illegal pesticides and illegal pet products, at: https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/illegalproducts/ or at https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/petproduct.htm

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