The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that a 2013 inspection of Quest Products LLC, conducted by the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA), revealed violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
In March 2012 Quest submitted a new pesticide registration to the EPA for a product called Reliant Systemic Fungicide. The company stated that they would be using a previously registered source for the active ingredient in the fungicide, and claimed that its product would be a 100 percent repack of another registrant's product. At the time the EPA accepted the registration and allowed Quest to begin production.
In 2013 the EPA received a tip for the registrant of the other product alleging that Quest was not repacking the original product at all. As a result the KDA performed a producer establishment inspection in August 2013, and found that instead of repacking, Quest was contracting with multiple toll manufacturers to produce a completely unregistered product which it was then marketing as Reliant Systemic Fungicide.
The sale and distribution of unregistered pesticides can pose serious risks to human health, wildlife and the environment. Quest's actions were in violation of its registration and the FIFRA. The company has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $88,533 for marketing and selling a misbranded pesticide. The agreement includes certification that it is now in compliance with FIFRA and its regulations.
Quest Products also submitted an application to the EPA to amend its registration for Reliant Systemic Fungicide, which the EPA approved in 2014.
Manufacturers should meet with environmental consultants on a regular basis to ensure they are working in compliance with all relevant federal and state laws.