Toxic birdseed from your friends at Scotts Miracle Grow

[Ichingcarpenter]

January 27, 2012

Scotts to pay $4.5M in fines
Company will plead guilty to violations in 2008 over paperwork, toxic birdseed

Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. has agreed to plead guilty to charges in federal court and pay $4.5?m illion in fines in two incidents that date to 2008.

That year, the company recalled packages of wild birdseed coated with pesticides that were toxic to birds.

In a separate incident that year, federal officials discovered that the company was selling lawn and garden products with falsified U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pesticide registration numbers. The guilty plea and fines were contained in a plea-agreement document filed yesterday at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Scotts spokesman Jim King said the agreement has yet to be approved by a judge and declined to comment. No hearing date has been set in the case.

Court documents state that, from November 2005 to March 2008, Scotts distributed 73 million units of birdseed coated with insecticides called Storcide II and Actellic 5E. This was done to keep insects from eating the seeds during storage.

Storcide’s label says the pesticide is “extremely toxic to fish and toxic to birds and other wildlife.” Documents state that Scotts continued to sell the products despite warnings in the summer and fall of 2007 from a pesticide chemist and an ornithologist, both of whom worked for the company..........


http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2012/01/27/scotts-to-pay-4-5m-in-fines.html

[Ohio Dem]

1. Oh, for Christ's sake!

I mean, really?

This just is another example of how companies have NO conscience, and MUST be regulated by government. Corporations exist to make money, and don't give a shit about anything else.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Who ae these death spewers...let's see.....hmmmmm

The Scotts Company LLC is the exclusive sales and marketing agent for Roundup Brand Lawn & Garden Products.
The Scotts Company, LLC operates as a subsidiary of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company.

They make Osmocote Fertilizer too.

Guess I won't be buying from them anymore.

[Guy Montag]

3. Thiws company needs to go out of business as badly as Monsanto does.

This pisses me off to no end. I am going to complain where I see their products sold.

[Frustratedlady]

4. And they want to stop regulations?

Another good example of why you can't let them operate without them. I'm disappointed in Scotts for this selfish action. What else have they done for the almighty dollar?

[Jello Biafra]

5. Another example of.....let's pay some money.....

and it will go away....I keep thinking any time Tony Soprano had someone beat up that he knew, he would pay them some money out of his pocket and then he would say something like..."go see a doctor" or "go buy something".....

[TreasonousBastard]

6. Cue outrage for something done over four years ago. What...

are they doing NOW?

[Ichingcarpenter]

7. It took 6 years and now justice?

I don't get your point.

They lied and falsified documents

[TreasonousBastard]

10. Sure they did. But, they got caught, had a recall, and...

after years of litigation are paying a fine.

The real point is what are they doing now that's different... or not so different?

Are the individuals responsible still there?

[Ichingcarpenter]

11. OK.. I MISINTERPRETED your post

Makes you wonder what they haven't caught..

I think Monsanto and bees come to mind.

[TreasonousBastard]

13. Well, they distribute Roundup and own a huge lawn care compay...

so they're not angels.

Remains to be seen how devilish they are.

[Vinca]

8. Oh, no, I hope that's not what happened to the birds in our neighborhood.

We have a neighbor who has had many feeding stations for years and the birds seem to have disappeared. Yesterday I threw a loaf of bread (failed experiment) loaded with seeds and grains out on the patio trying to attract some birds for the cats to watch from their window perch and it's still there this morning and is untouched.

[hobbit709]

9. There is certainly no shortage of grackles in my neighborhood.

I call my truck the Guanomobile.

[GoCubsGo]

12. Most birds don't see bread as a food source.

Songbirds eat seeds, fruits, nuts, and/or insects. Some, including woodpeckers, will eat suet cakes. If you want to attract birds, put out some black oil sunflower seeds. That will attract the biggest variety of birds. There are plenty of reputable companies that sell untainted bird seed. You can also make your own suet cakes. Just google "no melt suet cakes".

[countryjake]

14. Bastards!

Think four and a half million will even make a dent in their pockets?

Didn't they do something similar with chicken feed quite a while ago or was that Purina?