WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2010 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has imposed sanctions on four produce businesses for failure to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA).
The following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:
- Cosmos Corporation, d/b/a Fruit Merchant, operating out of Durham, N.C., for failing to pay a $65,038.24 reparation award in favor of a Texas seller. The responsibly connected officer, director, and major stockholder is Muhammad N. Sharif.
- Empire Fresh Cuts LLC, operating out of Oswego, N.Y., for failing to pay a $228,606.85 reparation award in favor of a Virginia seller. The responsibly connected member is Samuel A. Zappala.
- Fresh Mex Produce Inc., operating out of Providence, R.I., for failing to pay a $90,911.35 reparation award in favor of a Texas seller. The responsibly connected officer, director, and major stockholder is Irvin V. Campos.
- Randall Tropicals Inc., operating out of Bronx, N.Y., for failing to pay a $58,895.67 reparation award in favor of a New Jersey seller. The responsibly connected officer, director, and major stockholder is Kelvin Troncoso.
PACA provides an administrative forum to handle disputes over produce transactions; this may result in a reparation order being issued that requires damages to be paid by those not meeting their contractual obligations in buying and selling fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. The USDA is required to suspend the license of a 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, officers, directors, or major stockholders may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee without USDA-approval.
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), PACA Branch, regulates fair trading practices of produce companies operating subject to the PACA, which includes buyers, sellers, commission merchants, dealers, and brokers within the fruit and vegetable industry. All oversight of actions related to the PACA is conducted by the AMS, an agency within the USDA.
In fiscal year 2010 USDA resolved approximately 2,000 claims filed under the PACA involving $30 million. This is just one more way the USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.
For more information, contact John Koller, Director, Dispute Resolution Section at (202) 720-2890, by fax at (202) 690-2815, or by email at disputeresolutionsection@ams.usda.gov regarding this matter.
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