News Release from EPA Region 10 - FIFRA

EPA ensures Oregon distributor properly labels pesticides

Contact Info: Chad Schulze, EPA FIFRA Program, 206-553-0505, schulze.chad@epa.gov
Tony Brown, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-1203, brown.anthony@epa.gov

(Seattle – March 1, 2012) Wilbur-Ellis Company, an international distributor of agricultural products located in Hood River, Oregon violated federal pesticide laws by repeatedly omitting important manufacturing information on product labels, according to a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The settlement follows an Oregon Department of Agriculture inspection of Wilbur-Ellis’s facility in 2010. Inspectors found that Wilbur-Ellis sold and distributed mislabeled “Supreme Oil,” an insecticidal spray, 37 separate times. The EPA immediately issued a Stop-Sale Order for the product and helped bring the company into compliance.

According to Scott Downey, manager of the EPA's pesticide unit in Seattle, proper labeling of pesticides is key to protecting people’s health and the environment.

“Sellers and distributors of pesticides know that proper labeling is the law.” Downey said. “These laws help ensure that agencies can track problem pesticides back to the producer when needed to protect public safety.”

Wilbur-Ellis has had similar violations of the federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act in the past. The company has agreed to pay a $50,320 fine for the violations and has committed to revising its labeling practices.

Supreme Oil is a plant-based insecticidal spray that controls a wide variety of insect pests on fruits and vegetables.