The companies allegedly imported Frontline and Advantage brand pesticides from Europe and then sold them without paying a registration fee to the DPR.

On the DPR’s list are wholesale distributors, Internet sellers and retail outlets of varying sizes. San Leandro-based Pet Food Express Ltd., the sixth largest pet specialty retailer in the nation, faces one of the largest penalties: $700,000 for 140 violations between 2000 and 2003.

The pesticide agency also targeted Red Cart Market Inc. (Emeryville), which does business as Pet Club retail stores and Petguys.com. The department is seeking $55,000 from the firm for 11 alleged sales of unregistered foreign flea treatments.

All the companies named in the announcement allegedly sold the pesticide in counterfeit packaging or with stickers covering the foreign labels, according to the DPR. The companies were given 20 days to pay or appeal for a hearing before the DPR pursued legal measures.

According to a news report in the Contra Costa Times, John Moore, the general counsel for Pet Food Express, said the company was assured by its British distributor that the products would comply with regulatory requirements in the United States. The company itself did not repackage any products, he said.

Pet Food Express reportedly offered to pay the state about $20,000 in unpaid fees on the sales, to no avail. Moore told the Times that his company would request a hearing before the department to fight the charges.

The dosage and instructions of the foreign-market pesticide products may vary from products approved for U.S. sale..

No injuries to pets or pet owners from the pesticides have been confirmed, according to the DPR. [May 2005 PET AGE]