Kansas City Grocers Ordered to Stop Selling Illegally-Imported Disinfectants
On May 6, 2024, EPA Region 7 announced that 17 grocery stores in the Kansas City area had been ordered to stop the sale and use of certain Fabuloso-brand cleaners and other disinfectants because of potential health risks. The orders, issued by the Kansas and Missouri Departments of Agriculture in partnership with EPA, require the stores to immediately remove the illegal products from their shelves.
According to EPA’s press release, the products contain glutaraldehyde, an active ingredient not approved for household disinfectant use in the U.S. due to its potential health risks. These risks include “throat and lung irritation, asthma and difficulty breathing, dermatitis, nasal irritation, sneezing, wheezing, burning eyes, and conjunctivitis.”
EPA says that the products were illegally imported. The press release states that their labels are primarily in Spanish and that the affected grocers “serve Hispanic communities.”
It is important to note that not all Fabuloso products are unsafe. There is also an EPA approved US version of Fabuloso which does not contain glutaraldehyde. According to the press release, some stores subject to the orders sold both the illegal and the approved US versions of the disinfectants.
