Background
The Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) promotes fair and ethical trading practices in the marketing of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables in interstate and foreign commerce. It prohibits unfair and fraudulent practices and provides a means of enforcing contracts. Under the PACA, anyone buying or selling a threshold amount of commercial quantities of fruit and vegetables must be licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
To apply for a license, to obtain more specific information about licensing requirements, or to find out if a firm is a licensee, one may contact the
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Agency, the agency that administers the PACA licenses at 800-495-7222.
United Fresh's "
User's Guide to the PACA" written by noted PACA Attorney Steve McCarron provides a complete overview and clear explanation of how to operate legally under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. The newest edition of this essential reference source includes discussion of recent expansions of the PACA trust to include restaurants and cruise lines; the fallout of the Hunts Point inspection scandal; the New Dispute Resolution Corporation; the latest PACA rulings on commercial bribery; recent court decisions, and much more.
Click here to see United Fresh's comments on PACA EDI.
