USDA restricts PACA violators in Missouri and Pennsylvania from operating in the produce industry

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has imposed sanctions on two produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA).

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.

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

• St. Louis Produce LLC, operating out of St. Charles, Mo., for failing to pay a $44,886 award in favor of a Missouri seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Joshua A. Blassingame was listed as a member of the business.
• Sycamore Foods Inc., operating out of Scranton, Pa., for failing to pay a $31,108 award in favor of a New York seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Pavlos Vardinogiannis was listed as the officer, director and major stockholder of the business.

For more information, contact John Koller, Chief, Dispute Resolution Branch, at (202) 720-2890, by fax at (202) 690-2815, or PACAdispute@usda.gov.