As part of its efforts to enforce the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act and ensure fair trading practices within the U.S. produce industry, the Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on four produce businesses for failing to meet their contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the PACA.

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

• Mibo Fresh Foods LLC, operating out of Fort Worth, TX, for failing to pay a $220,153 award in favor of a Washington seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Uzor U. Nwoko was listed as a member of the business.
• Farmway Inc., operating out of Hudson, FL, for failing to pay a $27,558 award in favor of a Utah seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, William Moore was listed as the officer, director and major stockholder of the business.
• Basic Meats Supermarket Inc., doing business as Bravo Dixie Supermarket, operating out of Miami, for failing to pay a $17,723 award in favor of a Florida seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Robert E. Gomez was listed as the officer, director and major stockholder of the business.
• Organic Harvest LLC, operating out of Miami, for failing to pay a $12,089 award in favor of a Florida seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Patricia Davila was listed as a member of the business. Another principal of the business at the time of the order was Thomas B. D’Agostino. He has challenged his responsibly connected status.

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.

In the past three years, USDA resolved approximately 3,500 PACA claims involving more than $58 million. PACA staff also assisted more than 7,800 callers with issues valued at approximately $148 million.