Kansas City Grocery Stores Ordered to Stop Selling Illegal Fabuloso Disinfectant Products

LENEXA, KAN. (MAY 6, 2024) – On April 15 and 16, 2024, the Kansas and Missouri Departments of Agriculture, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ordered 17 grocery stores in the Kansas City area to stop the sale and distribution of certain Fabuloso household disinfectants, as well as other disinfection products.

EPA says that the products were illegally imported into the U.S., are noncompliant with federal law, and may represent a danger to consumers.

“EPA and our state partners are committed to protecting customers from potentially dangerous pesticide products, especially in areas already overburdened by pollution,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister. “This includes taking swift action to prevent ongoing sales of illegal disinfectant products.”

According to EPA, the illegal Fabuloso products contain an active ingredient, glutaraldehyde, that is not authorized in the U.S. as a household disinfectant, because of potential health risks, including throat and lung irritation, asthma and difficulty breathing, dermatitis, nasal irritation, sneezing, wheezing, burning eyes, and conjunctivitis.

The joint state and EPA inspections that resulted in the “stop sale” orders revealed illegal Fabuloso products being offered for sale at multiple grocers in the Kansas City area that serve Hispanic communities.

The unauthorized Fabuloso products had labels primarily written in Spanish. A U.S. version of Fabuloso, with labels in English, contain an approved active ingredient that is authorized for sale in the U.S. Some of the stores that were inspected were selling both the authorized and unauthorized products.

Other violative products identified during the inspections and placed under a stop sale order include:

48 Horas Prevencion Antibacterial Clorox
Clorox Ropa
Royal Pine
Pinol el Original
Cloralex El Rendidor
Axiom Complete
Golden Essence Multi-Purpose Antibacterial Wipes

The stop sale orders issued to the grocery stores require them to remove the illegal products from store shelves and to cease all further sales and/or distribution.

If you have recently purchased a Fabuloso product that makes disinfectant claims, or any of the other listed disinfectants, check the product label to ensure that it is registered with EPA (all EPA-approved disinfectants have unique registration numbers). If the label does not include an EPA registration number and/or indicates it is not approved for sale in the U.S., contact your waste provider for disposal options. Fabuloso products that do not make anti-viral or anti-bacterial disinfectant claims are not regulated and can be used according to their directions.

Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), producers and distributors of pesticide products must register the products with EPA and must include required labeling on the products. It is illegal to sell any pesticide that is not registered and/or does not contain required label contents. Any products claiming to kill viruses and other pathogens are considered “pesticides” under federal law.

EPA offers a hotline where questions can be answered about pesticides at 1-800-858-7378. A Spanish-speaking version is available at 1-888-919-4372.