The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has imposed sanctions on four produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA). These sanctions include suspending the businesses’ PACA licenses and barring the principal operators of the businesses from engaging in PACA-licensed business or other activities without approval from USDA.

The following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:

• Fresh Life Co., operating out of Moreno Valley, Calif., for failing to pay a $15,780 award in favor of a California seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Gabriel Gomez and Rose Mata were listed as the officers, directors and/or major stockholders of the business.
• Dukarani Food Processing Inc., operating out of Minneapolis, Minn., for failing to pay an $11,040 award in favor of an Illinois seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Fomba S. Konjan and Mohammed Dukuly were listed as the officers, directors and/or major stockholders of the business.
• New Start Produce Group LLC, operating out of Dallas, Texas, for failing to pay a $33,214 award in favor of a Texas seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Carlos Chavez and Ruben Ayala were listed as the members of the business.
• Nationwide Foods LLC, operating out of Grand Prairie, Texas, for failing to pay a $12,243 award in favor of a Texas seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Rosario Lanao was listed as the manager of the business.

PACA provides an administrative forum to handle disputes involving produce transactions; this may result in USDA’s issuance of a reparation order that requires damages to be paid by those not meeting their contractual obligations in buying and selling fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. USDA is required to suspend the license or impose sanctions on an unlicensed business that fails to pay PACA reparations awarded against it as well as impose restrictions against those principals determined to be responsibly connected to the business when the order is issued. Those individuals, including sole proprietors, partners, members, managers, officers, directors or major stockholders, may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee without USDA approval.

By issuing these penalties, USDA continues to enforce the prompt and full payment for produce while protecting the rights of sellers and buyers in the marketplace.

For more information, contact Penny Robinson-Landrigan, Chief, Dispute Resolution Branch, at (202) 720-2890 or PACAdispute@usda.gov.

The PACA Division, which is in the Fair Trade Practices Program in the Agricultural Marketing Service, regulates fair trading practices of produce businesses that are operating subject to PACA, including buyers, sellers, commission merchants, dealers and brokers within the fruit and vegetable industry. In the past three years, USDA resolved over 3,000 PACA claims involving approximately $147 million. PACA staff also assisted more than 5,900 callers with issues valued at approximately $163 million. These are just two examples of how USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.

Original source can be found here.