An insecticide manufacturer says its neem oil biopesticide was unlawfully prohibited in Oregon for being contaminated with trace levels of malathion, chlorpyrifos and permethrin.

Southern Agricultural Insecticides, a Florida-based company, has filed a lawsuit arguing that federal pesticide law should have preempted the Oregon Department of Agriculture from blocking the sale of Triple Action Neem Oil that it considers misbranded and adulterated.

The complaint seeks an injunction stopping the enforcement of the state’s “stop sale, use and removal” order against the biopesticide product, which was originally issued last year and most recently updated in February.

The department cannot comment on the specific litigation but aims to prevent contaminated products from affecting organic producers and others who avoid conventional pesticides, said Stephanie Page, director of the agency’s natural resources program area.

The agency began finding contaminants in biopesticide products after being alerted to the problem by state-mandated testing of marijuana, but the problem isn’t limited to that psychoactive crop, she said. “Even though it was cannabis that prompted us to find those things, it’s a much broader issue than cannabis.”

Other pesticide companies whose products were found to contain contaminants have generally agreed to pay civil penalties and test future product lots, Page said. “For the most part, we’ve reached settlement agreements with them.”