WASHINGTON, DC - The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) filed a complaint on August 19, 2020, stating that Martinez Fresh Produce, operating out of Dallas, Texas, was in violation of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA). The company allegedly failed to make full payment to the eight sellers of produce it purchased from, totalling in the amount of $155,508.

Direct from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service:

After the complaint was filed, USDA and Martinez Fresh entered into a Consent Decision and Order in which Martinez Fresh agreed to pay the unpaid produce sellers in full and to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $20,000. As a result of Martinez Fresh satisfying the terms of the consent decision and order, the finding that it had committed repeated and flagrant PACA violations was permanently abated without further process and the case has been closed.

The PACA Division, which is in the Fair Trade Practices Program in the Agricultural Marketing Service, 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 $165 million. PACA staff also assisted more than 6,600 callers with issues valued at approximately $169 million. These are just two examples of how USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.

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USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service