LIVONIA, Mich. – The Environmental Protection Agency is warning about illegal pesticides that are allegedly for sale in Livonia.
The agency says the alleged illegal products could be dangerous to people, animals, and the environment.
Florida Garden Supplies is in a small strip mall off Schoolcraft in Livonia. It’s a hydroponics supply shop, indoor gardening for various plants and vegetables.
The EPA said they issued a stop-sale order to prevent the illegal distribution and sale of unregistered pesticides in the store or online.
In a statement, the agency said: “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a stop sale, use, or removal order to Florida Gardens Supplies Inc. In Livonia, Michigan.”
Xtreme Nutrient is a brand of pesticides that Florida garden supplies appear to be manufactured in-house and sold at its retail stores.
Florida Garden Supplies is an eight store chain based in Hialeah, Florida, but it also has stores in Colorado Springs and Michigan.
We contacted the chain owner Eliecer Salcerio by phone. He told Local 4 the stop sale order is a surprise since he says he was contacted about 18 months ago with this issue.
He added: “We do not manufacture our own products.” Stating the in-house part of the EPA statement is a falsehood.
He said he believes some of this incident stems from a Michigan competitor.
This leaves a lot of unanswered questions for the EPA, and we spoke with the agency this afternoon:
- What about leaving those products on the shelf?
- What is the penalty for selling unregistered pesticides?
- The owner says this happened some 18 months to two years ago. Why are we hearing about this now?
- The owner claims a competitor from Lansing is causing him the issues here. Do you know that to be true?
- The owner also states categorically he does not manufacture his products in-house. Is this true? What is the EPA’s basis for this claim?