WASHINGTON, DC – In a complaint filed on Dec. 14, 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cited American Fruit and Produce Corporation (American Fruit), of Opa Locka, FL, for failure to make full payment promptly in the total amount of $2,842,249 to 38 sellers for multiple lots of produce in violation of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA).
According to a recent USDA press release, subsequent to the complaint being filed, USDA and American Fruit entered into a consent decision and order finding that the company committed repeated and flagrant violations of the PACA. American Fruit paid the produce sellers in full and paid a civil penalty in the amount of $45,000. Because American Fruit has satisfied the terms of the consent decision and order, the company remains licensed under the PACA and this case is closed.
The PACA Division, which is part of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), 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 approximately 3,500 PACA claims involving more than $58 million. Its experts also assisted more than 8,000 callers with issues valued at approximately $140 million. These are just two examples of how USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.
