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:

• Big Tex Produce, operating out of Dallas, for failing to pay a $19,092 award in favor of a Texas seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Maria Rayas and Viridiana Rodriguez were listed as members of the business.
• Wholesale Mexcol LLC, operating out of Webster, TX, for failing to pay an $11,840 award in favor of a California seller.  As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Gustavo Soto Gomez was listed as a member of the business.
• Cal Tex Produce L.P., operating out of Dallas, for failing to pay an $8,030 award in favor of an Arkansas seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Cal Texas Dissolution LLC and Johnny D. Rodriguez were listed as partners of the business.  Another principal of the business at the time of the order was Jimmy W. Hutton. He has challenged his responsibly connected status.
• G&A Foodservice Inc., doing business as Fresh Express Produce, operating out of Addison, IL, for failing to pay a $7,095 award in favor of an Illinois seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, George Panagakis was listed as the officer, director and major stockholder of the business.

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.