Safeway Fresh Foods LLC of Vineland has satisfied the terms of a consent decision and order by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)recently and the case was closed.
In a complaint filed on March 21, 2024, USDA alleged that Safeway failed to make full payment promptly in the total amount of $3,863,509 to 13 sellers for multiple lots of produce in violation of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA).
After the complaint was filed, USDA and Safeway Fresh Foods LLC entered into a Consent Decision and Order wherein Safeway Fresh Foods LLC agreed to pay the unpaid produce sellers and to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $60,000.
As a result, the finding that Safeweay had committed repeated and flagrant PACA violations was permanently abated without further process and that case has also been closed.
In the past three years, USDA handled more than 2,340 cases valued at $126.3 million. PACA staff also assisted over 5,600 callers with issues valued at $146.7 million.
For more information, contact the Investigative Enforcement Branch at (202) 720-6873 or PACAInvestigations@usda.gov.
The PACA Division, which is in the Fair Trade Practices Program in the Agricultural Marketing Service, regulates fair trading practices of produce businesses that are operating subject to PACA, including buyers, sellers, commission merchants, dealers and brokers within the fruit and vegetable industry.
