H-E-B wipes deal gets messier
Disinfecting wipes sold by HE-B are creating quite the mess.
Already mired in litigation over BioErase antimicrobial surface wipes distributed by a Beaumont partnership, H-E-B disclosed that the Environmental Protection Agency instructed the grocery chain to remove the wipes from store shelves within 30 days.
The EPA requires cleaning products that make pesticidal or disinfection claims on their labeling, such as controlling bacteria or viruses, must be registered with the federal agency.
BioErase products state they’re exempt from EPA registration because they’re classified as “minimal risk pesticides” under federal law due to their allnatural ingredients. H-E-B, however, said it learned from the EPA that the claim is false, so the wipes can’t be legally sold.
H-E-B has accused Beaumontbased Maverick International Ltd. of attempting to hide the registration requirement from the San Antonio chain in order to sell BioErase.
In an amended lawsuit filed this month in state District Court in San Antonio, H-E-B said it is stuck with “worthless” BioErase inventory.
“Due to Maverick’s false and fraudulent claims regarding BioErase’s alleged EPA exemption, HE-B will have to incur additional losses in removing the product from its shelves and storing and/ or disposing” of it, the grocer said.
H-E-B has “recalled and assembled thousands of units of BioErase product in its warehouse facilities in Bexar County,” it added.
It’s the latest twist in an escalating legal spat, which started last month when H-E-B sued Maverick for allegedly failing to deliver the quantities of BioErase the grocer ordered and for missing deadlines.
The grocer wanted the wipes because of increasing demand for surface cleaning products amid the coronavirus pandemic.
H-E-B said it agreed to buy almost 599,000 BioErase canisters, while Maverick alleges the grocer committed to buy 500,000 canisters a month over a 12-month period — for a total of 6 million units.
Maverick has sued H-E-B in state District Court in Jefferson County, alleging statements the grocer made led Maverick to delay filing its suit first. Maverick wants all of the litigation to unfold on its home turf rather than in San Antonio.
Maverick said it acquired millions of canisters of “dry” wipes and tens of thousands of gallons of disinfecting liquid to activate the wipes based on an agreement it said it reached with H-E-B. Maverick alleged H-E-B slowed the pace of delivery of the canisters and delayed the issuance of purchase orders.
H-E-B spokesman Valentino Lucio declined to comment Tuesday. Maverick’s lawyers did not respond to a request for comment. An EPA representative didn’t answer emailed questions.
Both companies are seeking more than $1 million in damages.