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 two 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:

• Sandifer Farms LLC, operating out of Blackville, SC, for failing to pay a $172,156 award in favor of a Florida seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Bruce A. Barron and Phillip L. Sandifer were listed as members of the business.  Another principal of the business at the time of the order was Michael C. Harris. He has challenged his responsibly connected status.
• Alpha Family Farms LLC, operating out of Royal Oak Beach, FL, for failing to pay a $22,625 award in favor of a Florida seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Amanda Camacho and Christian Spataro were listed as members 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.