Hy-Vee to pay EPA penalty for selling unregistered pesticide product at JoCo store

Hy-Vee will pay more than $5,000 for selling an unregistered pesticide product at an Overland Park store, the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday.

The company MJB Worldwide LLC distributed Outlaw Germ Justice Disinfectant Wipes to Hy-Vee stories in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota, the EPA said.

Under federal law, companies that make materials that kill bacteria and viruses such as COVID-19 have to register the the product with the EPA.

The agency discovered the wipes had not been registered and contacted MJB in November 2020. The company said it had recalled its Outlaw disinfectant products, but in January 2021, an EPA inspector discovered the wipes for sale at an Overland Park Hy-Vee.

The EPA issued an order to MJB and Hy-Vee to stop the sale of the product and sequester any remaining packages of it.

Hy-Vee disposed of it without seeking approval from the federal agency.

The EPA and MJB settled an enforcement case for the product last July. The company is no longer an actively registered business, according to the EPA.

Hy-Vee will pay a $5,374 civil penalty for violating the terms of the EPA’s order.

“The registration of pesticide products with EPA is critical to protecting public health so consumers are aware of a product’s ingredients, how the product can be safely used, and how the product should be properly stored and disposed,” said David Cozad, director of EPA Region 7’s enforcement and compliance assurance division.

The grocery store chain did not return a call seeking comment.