Monsanto Fined $2.5 Million for Misbranded Cotton Seed

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fined Monsanto Co. $2.5 million for violations regarding the misbranding of cotton seed containing genetically engineered pesticides. Between 2002 and 2007, the EPA alleged that Monsanto—the world’s largest seed company—distributed or sold seed containing its Bollgard or Bollgard II plant-incorporated pesticides 1,782 times across 22 states without including required documentation.

Monsanto was required to include planting restrictions in grower guides that accompany the seed, the use of which is restricted in 10 Texas counties due to concerns about insect resistance (the restrictions were lifted in 2008 once no increased resistance was seen in those counties). When the company realized in 2006 that the required language hadn’t been included with the seed, it reported the oversight to EPA.

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The fine represents the largest civil administrative penalty settlement ever received under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. According to EPA, the restrictions “serve to protect the environment from the potential harm associated with the uncontrolled spread of the genetically engineered component of these pesticides, Bacillus thuringiensis.”

In a press release, Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said, “This agreement shows that when a company violates the law by distributing misbranded pesticides, EPA will take action. The regulated community should understand that we take these violations seriously, and the public will accept nothing less than compliance.”
 

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