USDA/AMS Press Release:
Sun Produce Specialties LLC, Phoenix, Ariz., has complied with the terms of a consent decision and order finding that the company violated section 8(b) of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) and revoking the company’s PACA license for unlawful employment of Ricardo B. Bombella, an individual under PACA employment restrictions. The finding and revocation were held in abeyance so long as the company paid a civil penalty of $20,000 by no later than July 29, 2016.
Sun Produce Specialties subsequently paid the civil penalty in full. The finding and license revocation were permanently abated and the case was closed.
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. All oversight of actions related to PACA are conducted by AMS, an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). PACA establishes a code of good business conduct for the produce industry. Under it, 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. Our 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.
For further information, contact Josephine E. Jenkins, Chief, Investigative Enforcement Branch, at (202) 720-6873, or by email at PACAInvestigations@ams.usda.gov.
For more PACA violations reported by Blue Book Services: #PACAViolations
