USDA Files Action Against M & M Produce Inc. for PACA Violations
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The USDA has filed an administrative action under PACA, against M & M Produce Inc., a produce company operating out of Connecticut.
According to a press release from the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, the company allegedly failed to make full payment to 46 produce sellers in the amount of $2,873,896 from May 2014 through March 2015.
M & M Produce Inc. will have opportunity to request a hearing. If the USDA does find that the company committed repeated and flagrant violations, it would be barred from the produce industry for two years. Even further, its principals could not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee for one year and then only with the posting of a USDA-approved surety bond.
Under PACA, all interstate traders in fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables must be licensed by USDA. USDA is authorized to suspend or revoke a trader’s license for violating the Act.
In the past three years, USDA resolved approximately 3,700 PACA claims involving more than $66 million. Its experts also assisted more than 7,100 callers with issues valued at approximately $100 million. These are just two examples of how USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.
