EPA: Ocean State Job Lot Agrees to Pay Fines for Misbranding Bug Zappers
The EPA and North Kingstown, Rhode Island-based Ocean State Jobbers have settled over allegations that the company, operating as Ocean State Job Lot, violated the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) by misbranding bug zapper pesticide devices.
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Ocean State Job Lot has agreed to pay $53,500 in penalties for allegedly importing, distributing and selling misbranded bug zapper pesticide devices between February 2020 and April 2023.
The EPA regulates bug zappers as devices under FIFRA because they are instruments that use physical mechanisms, such as electricity, to trap, destroy, repel or mitigate a pest, according to the agency. These bug zappers were misbranded because there was no EPA establishment number on the product labels indicating where the pesticide devices were produced. Ocean State Job Lot also didn’t file the required Notices of Arrival for the imports of bug zappers during the relevant time frame, EPA said.
The imports came through ports of entry in Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts. Ocean State Job Lot is a discount retail chain with stores across New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
"The consumer deserves accuracy and demands accountability when it comes to products they purchase," EPA New England Regional Administrator David Cash said in an EPA release last week. "This settlement serves as a reminder that thoroughness is required, and not merely a suggestion, and that anyone importing pesticide devices into the U.S. needs to follow the proper ground rules to do so legally."
In response to the EPA's statement, Ocean State Job Lot told International Trade Today that the mislabeling was attributed to the manufacturer.
"The bug zapper racquet referenced in this suit does not contain insecticides or pesticides. Regardless, the EPA considers it a ‘pesticide device,' a designation we were not aware of, and therefore did not submit the relevant forms. Further, it was mislabeled by the manufacturer, an error that went undiscovered," Ocean State Job Lot said.
"Once we were alerted of the processing errors, we immediately put a corrective action plan in place and shared it with the EPA. Due to our rapid and thorough response and our full cooperation, the EPA imposed the lowest possible penalty based on the violation," Ocean State Job Lot continued. "The product in question is inherently safe, and a compliant version of it is currently available in our stores. No action is required by our customers."