USDA Files Action Under PACA Against Bissett Produce Company Inc.
WASHINGTON - The USDA has filed an administrative action against Bissett Produce Company Inc., a Spring Hope, North Carolina-based company, for failing to pay for produce under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA).
The company allegedly failed to pay nine growers in the amount of $1,637,414 for 72 lots of produce it purchased in interstate and foreign commerce from September 2010 through June 2013, according to a USDA press release.
Bissett Produce Company Inc. will have an opportunity to request a hearing. Should the USDA find that the company committed repeated and flagrant violations, it would be barred from the produce industry for two years. Its principals, which were not named in the release, 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.
In the past three years, the USDA resolved approximately 4,600 claims filed under PACA involving more than $87 million. Individuals, including sole proprietors, partners, members, managers, officers, directors, or major stockholders may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee without the approval of the USDA. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), PACA Division, regulates fair trading practices of produce businesses operating subject to PACA.
