Post by Brooke on Mar 9, 2004 2:24:19 GMT -5
Feds say packaging looks like real thing
By Kathryn Balint
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 7, 2004
Pet owners have been warned to be on the alert for counterfeit packages of popular anti-flea and anti-tick preparations.
The Environmental Protection Agency issued the alert Thursday after a customs probe revealed that a distributor in Honolulu had shipped counterfeit packages of Advantage and Frontline to unsuspecting pet stores nationwide, including four in San Diego.
Last month, the EPA informed those four stores – Pet Stop, Pet Market, Newport Pet and Peñasquitos Pet – of the illegal products and asked the businesses to remove them, EPA spokeswoman Lisa Fasano said.
Since last fall, when the investigation began, EPA pesticide investigators have realized that counterfeit flea and tick control products for pets is a widespread problem, Fasano said.
"We've got a deluge of counterfeit or illegal products on the market," she said.
In many cases, she said, the products were Frontline or Advantage preparations intended for sale in other countries but repackaged in forged cartons. The packages made it appear the products contained pesticides legitimately registered by the EPA.
The products are illegal to sell in the United States because the instructions are in foreign languages, they do not have childproof caps, and the dosages are based on a pet's weight in kilos, rather than pounds, Fasano said. In addition, the packages may contain mislabeled dosages.
"People could, conceivably, be using the incorrect dose on their pet," Fasano said.
But the counterfeit packaging looks so much like the real product that sellers and buyers may be unable to tell the difference.
"Consumers may not know until they take it home and open the product," Fasano said.
Advantage and Frontline are rubbed onto the back of the neck of a dog or cat to kill fleas.
Bayer Corp., the maker of Advantage, and Merial Ltd., the maker Frontline, have posted warnings on their Web sites alerting customers.
Pang & Son, the Honolulu-based distributor of the Advantage and Frontline products in question, has gone out of business, Fasano said. Still, she said, EPA investigators are convinced there are other distributors selling fraudulent flea and tick control products.
The agency also is talking with Bayer and Merial about changing their packaging, Fasano said.
At Pet Stop in La Jolla, one counterfeit box was found when EPA investigators searched about two weeks ago, owner Carol Tanner said.
She said she quit buying Frontline and Advantage from Pang & Son more than a year ago because shipments took too long. She said she thought she was buying approved products and has no idea how many counterfeit packages she might have sold.
Pauline White, administrator of the San Diego County Veterinary Medical Association, learned of the fraudulent flea and tick control products last week. She said she planned to alert local veterinarians.
White said Frontline and Advantage are generally sold only to veterinarians. But because they are popular products, she said, there is a big market for them in retail shops, explaining why unethical distributors might want to re-package Frontline and Advantage destined for other countries and sell them here.
White urged dog and cat owners to buy Frontline and Advantage from a veterinarian rather than over the counter because they are in the best position to determine whether either product could affect the pet.
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Kathryn Balint: (619) 293-2848; kathryn.balint@uniontrib.com
By Kathryn Balint
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 7, 2004
Pet owners have been warned to be on the alert for counterfeit packages of popular anti-flea and anti-tick preparations.
The Environmental Protection Agency issued the alert Thursday after a customs probe revealed that a distributor in Honolulu had shipped counterfeit packages of Advantage and Frontline to unsuspecting pet stores nationwide, including four in San Diego.
Last month, the EPA informed those four stores – Pet Stop, Pet Market, Newport Pet and Peñasquitos Pet – of the illegal products and asked the businesses to remove them, EPA spokeswoman Lisa Fasano said.
Since last fall, when the investigation began, EPA pesticide investigators have realized that counterfeit flea and tick control products for pets is a widespread problem, Fasano said.
"We've got a deluge of counterfeit or illegal products on the market," she said.
In many cases, she said, the products were Frontline or Advantage preparations intended for sale in other countries but repackaged in forged cartons. The packages made it appear the products contained pesticides legitimately registered by the EPA.
The products are illegal to sell in the United States because the instructions are in foreign languages, they do not have childproof caps, and the dosages are based on a pet's weight in kilos, rather than pounds, Fasano said. In addition, the packages may contain mislabeled dosages.
"People could, conceivably, be using the incorrect dose on their pet," Fasano said.
But the counterfeit packaging looks so much like the real product that sellers and buyers may be unable to tell the difference.
"Consumers may not know until they take it home and open the product," Fasano said.
Advantage and Frontline are rubbed onto the back of the neck of a dog or cat to kill fleas.
Bayer Corp., the maker of Advantage, and Merial Ltd., the maker Frontline, have posted warnings on their Web sites alerting customers.
Pang & Son, the Honolulu-based distributor of the Advantage and Frontline products in question, has gone out of business, Fasano said. Still, she said, EPA investigators are convinced there are other distributors selling fraudulent flea and tick control products.
The agency also is talking with Bayer and Merial about changing their packaging, Fasano said.
At Pet Stop in La Jolla, one counterfeit box was found when EPA investigators searched about two weeks ago, owner Carol Tanner said.
She said she quit buying Frontline and Advantage from Pang & Son more than a year ago because shipments took too long. She said she thought she was buying approved products and has no idea how many counterfeit packages she might have sold.
Pauline White, administrator of the San Diego County Veterinary Medical Association, learned of the fraudulent flea and tick control products last week. She said she planned to alert local veterinarians.
White said Frontline and Advantage are generally sold only to veterinarians. But because they are popular products, she said, there is a big market for them in retail shops, explaining why unethical distributors might want to re-package Frontline and Advantage destined for other countries and sell them here.
White urged dog and cat owners to buy Frontline and Advantage from a veterinarian rather than over the counter because they are in the best position to determine whether either product could affect the pet.
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Kathryn Balint: (619) 293-2848; kathryn.balint@uniontrib.com