WASHINGTON, D.C. - RJ Produce Inc., operating in Pharr, Texas, posted a $100,000 surety bond to employ Jose Cardenas under regulations of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA).
According to a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) press release, Cardenas was previously named in a PACA action when he was President, Secretary, Treasurer and a stockholder of Unique Produce Corp., in Riverside, CA, a company that failed to pay reparation awards issued against it under the PACA.
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), PACA Division, regulates fair trading practices of produce companies operating subject to PACA, which includes buyers, sellers, commission merchants, dealers, and brokers within the fruit and vegetable industry. USDA is authorized to suspend or revoke a company’s license for violations of PACA. All oversight of actions related to PACA are conducted by AMS, an agency within USDA.
In the past three years, USDA resolved approximately 3,700 PACA claims involving more than $66 million. The USDA’s experts also assisted more than 7,100 callers with issues valued at approximately $100 million. These are just two examples of how the USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.
