-5- 



Intent of the Act 



"The purpose of the PACA is to suppress unfair and fraudulent practices in 

 buying and selling fruit and vegetables in interstate or foreign commerce. The 

 Act makes it unlawful to 'misrepresent by word, act, mark, stencil, label, state- 

 ment, or deed, the character, kind, grade, quality, size, pack, weight, condition, 

 degree of maturity, or state or country of origin of any perishable agricultural 

 commodity received, shipped, sold, or offered to be sold in interstate or foreign 

 ;rce' . 



"These provisions were roade a part of the Act at the request of growers, 

 shippers, and receivers. They recognized that USDA needed authority to elimi- 

 nate unfair competition resulting from misbranding and misrepresentation of 

 produce . 



Violations Occurring 



"The Agricultural Marketing Service, responsible for enforcing the PACA, 

 continually spot checks fruits and vegetables on the terminal markets. Latest 

 figures indicate 160 misbranding violations found in about 1,000 inspections 

 and investigations in 147 cities. Of these, 55 per cent were misrepresentation 

 as to the State or area of origin and 25 per cent were failure to meet the de- 

 signated grade. 



"Many violations were due to containers being re-used with original mark- 

 ings still present. Commodities most commonly involved were cabbages, potatoes, 

 onions, apples, and sweet potatoes. 



"Regulatory workers report that most of this misbranding is on produce 

 packed by growers who are not aware of the law and its possible consequences. 



"For example, a potato grower may be using sacks marked U.S. No. 1 but 

 may not have his potatoes certified No. 1 by federal inspectors. 



"The PACA does not require any markings on containers. However, U. S. 

 grade marks and other information shown must be correct. 



"Regulatory personnel recommend that used sacks be turned inside out and 

 incorrect markings on other containers be obliterated before packing. If 

 names and addresses are required by State laws, stencils, reprinted sacks, or 

 cards attached may satisfy their requirements. But, cards are easily removed 

 or obscured from view. And, attachment of tags or cards to used containers 

 without obliterating incorrect markings does not correct a misbranding under 

 the PACA." 



-F. E. Cole 

 Extension Marketing Specialist 



