Washington - In an amended complaint filed on Jan. 19, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) alleged that North Pacific Canners and Packers Inc., doing business as NORPAC Foods Inc., (NORPAC), Salem, Ore., failed to make full payment promptly in the total amount of $152,181 to two sellers for multiple lots of produce in violation of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA).
After the complaint was filed, USDA and NORPAC entered into a Consent Decision and Order in which NORPAC agreed to pay the unpaid produce sellers in full and to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $10,000. As a result of NORPAC 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.
For further information, contact Corey Elliott, Chief, Investigative Enforcement Branch, at (202) 720-6873 or PACAInvestigations@usda.gov.
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 3,625 PACA claims involving more than $104 million. PACA staff also assisted more than 7,600 callers with issues valued at approximately $166 million. These are just two examples of how USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service
