WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has filed an administrative complaint under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) against G K Produce Inc. According to a USDA press release, the Pennsylvania-based company allegedly failed to make payment to eight produce sellers in the amount of $548,441, from November 2013 through March 2014.

G K Produce Inc. will have an opportunity to request a hearing, and should USDA find that the firm committed repeated and flagrant violations, it would be barred from the produce industry for two years. Furthermore, 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. No principles were listed in the USDA release.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), PACA Division, regulates fair trading practices of produce companies operating subject to PACA, including buyers, sellers, commission merchants, dealers, and brokers within the fruit and vegetable industry. Under PACA, all interstate traders in fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables must be licensed by USDA, which 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.

Agricultural Marketing Service