WASHINGTON, DC - This morning, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it imposed sanctions on two produce businesses for failing to meet their contractual obligations to the produce sellers they purchased from and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA). These sanctions include suspending the businesses’ PACA licenses and barring the principal operators of the businesses from engaging in PACA-licensed business or other activities without approval from USDA. By issuing these penalties, USDA continues to enforce the prompt and full payment for produce while protecting the rights of sellers and buyers in the marketplace.

Direct from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service:

The following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:

• Harvest Soul LLC, operating out of Fairburn, Georgia, for failing to pay a $5,492 award in favor of a Florida seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Kevin Quirk was listed as a member of the business.
• Church Hill Farms and Logistics, operating out of York, Pennsylvania, for failing to pay a $1,063,529 award in favor of a California seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Vincenzo F. Giuffrida was listed as the Officer, Director, and Major Stockholder of the business.

PACA provides an administrative forum to handle disputes involving produce transactions; this may result in USDA’s issuance of a reparation order that requires damages to be paid by those not meeting their contractual obligations in buying and selling fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. USDA is required to suspend the license or impose sanctions on an unlicensed business that fails to pay PACA reparations awarded against it as well as impose restrictions against those principals determined to be responsibly connected to the business when the order is issued. Those individuals, including sole proprietors, partners, members, managers, officers, directors, or major stockholders, may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee without USDA approval.

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 3,350 PACA claims involving more than $63 million. PACA staff also assisted more than 8,000 callers with issues valued at approximately $156 million. These are just two examples of how USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.

For more information, contacts, and to read the full press release, please click here.

USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service