EPA Levies Penalty Against SoCal Company for Illegal Antimicrobial Products

The following press release was published by the US EPA on Aug. 25. It is reproduced in full below.

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fined Seychelle Environmental Technologies, Inc. of Aliso Viejo $150,000 for selling unregistered antimicrobial products and manufacturing the product in an unregistered establishment. Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring antimicrobial products are properly produced, labeled, and distributed protects workers, the public, and the environment. The company has since corrected these violations of the federal pesticide law known as the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

“Purported antimicrobials that are unregistered and produced in unregistered facilities may not actually be effective in countering threats to health, and thus may pose a significant risk to consumers,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Director Amy Miller. “Antimicrobial product manufacturers that do not comply with federal law will face significant penalties.”

In 2017 and 2018, Seychelle sold a collection of related water filtration products known as the “Seychelle Standard Filter” and the “Seychelle Advanced Filter.” 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 distribution or sale. Although these Seychelle Filter products bore numerous antimicrobial claims, they were not registered with the EPA. 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. Additionally, the law requires that each pesticide manufacturer register its facility with EPA and annually report its pesticide production. In this matter, the Seychelle Filter products were produced in an establishment that was not registered with the EPA.

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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Source: US EPA