Washington, DC
July 18, 2007
The
U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that a Post
Falls, Idaho seed company has paid USDA $1,600 to settle alleged
violations of the Federal Seed Act.
The company, Jacklin Seed Company, settled the case in agreement
with officials from USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).
The company neither admitted nor denied the charges.
The case resolved by the settlement involved four shipments
consisting of lawn seed mixtures, Kentucky bluegrass, and rough
bluegrass alleged to be in violation of the Federal Seed Act;
there was one shipment each to Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, and
Illinois. The shipment to Illinois was reshipped by another
company to Michigan.
The alleged violations, while not the same for all shipments,
were:
• false labeling with respect to the germination test date;
• false labeling in regard to germination; and,
• false labeling in regard to pure seed and inert matter.
AMS administers the act with the help of state seed officials.
Seed regulatory officials in Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, and
Michigan cooperated with AMS in making the investigations. The
Federal Seed Act is a truth-in-labeling law designed to protect
farmers and consumers who buy seed. |
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