BOOM! and Max Control brand pesticides are not registered for domestic use.
Cofepris withdraws products such as Cheetos, Doritos and Oreo cookies, but does not act against illegal pesticides.
The Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks, Cofepris, is acting effectively and quickly to remove products from stores that do not comply with labeling requirements, but has failed to remove illegal pesticides that are still being sold in self-service stores, according to Luis Eduardo Gonzalez Cepeda, president of the Mexican Union of Manufacturers and Formulators of Agrochemicals, A.C., or UMFFAAC.
The UMFFAAC president recalled that in May the public was informed about the health risk of the sale of illegal BOOM! and Max Control brand pesticides in self-service stores such as Home Depot, HEB, Soriana, ACE Hardware, Mercado Libre and Walmart. But Cofepris has taken no action to remove them from the market.
González Cepeda also said that last April 14, Cofepris announced withdrawal from supermarkets such as Soriana and Chedraui of about 80 products that do not comply with labeling requirements. Among the withdrawn products were Oreo cookies, Cheetos and Doritos. “But when dealing with substances such as illegal pesticides, Cofepris does not act with the same responsibility and effectiveness as any health authority should do,” González Cepeda said. “These are products used in the home, putting children and pets at risk.”
Cristian García de Paz, executive director of Protección de Cultivos, Ciencia y Tecnología A.C., said this serious omission by Cofepris, “Reflects the disparity of criteria with which this agency acts, since it has no problem in publicizing actions to withdraw food products that do not comply with labeling standards, but it gives no importance to such a relevant issue as the sale of illegal pesticides for home use, when they are authorized exclusively for agricultural use, that is, they are sold with registrations that are not endorsed by Cofepris itself.”
García de Paz said illegal products sold in self-service stores are also available online. “This requires firm action by Cofepris to prevent continued access to illegal pesticides and the proliferation of a business that does not respect health regulations, risking the health of consumers who, in a trusting manner, acquire these products for use in their homes,” he said.
Both directors made a respectful, but strong call to Cofepris, to remove from the market illegal pesticides sold in stores and online, given the health risk involved in their sale to consumers who unknowingly acquire products without a valid registration issued by the competent authority.
Translated by Mike Rogers
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