As part of its efforts to enforce the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act and ensure fair trading practices within the U.S. produce industry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on The Fruit Club in Sioux Falls, SD, for failing to meet its contractual obligations to the sellers of produce it purchased.

The Fruit Club failed to pay $367,040 to four sellers for produce that it purchased, received and accepted in interstate commerce from June 2016 to October 2017. This is in violation of the PACA. As a result of these actions, The Fruit Club cannot operate in the produce industry until Aug. 16, 2021, and then only after they apply for and are issued a new PACA license by USDA.

The company’s principal, Matthew Kleinsasser, may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee until Aug. 16, 2020, and then only with the posting of a USDA approved surety bond.

These sanctions include barring the business and the principal operators of the business 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.

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.