Washington, DC
January 7, 2009
AMS 248-08
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
(USDA) Agricultural Marketing
Service (AMS) announced today that
Plantation Products
Inc., a seed company operating out of Norton, Mass., has
paid $4,225 to settle alleged violations of the Federal Seed
Act. The company settled the case in agreement with AMS
officials. The company neither admitted nor denied the charges
brought against them.
This settlement resolves a case which involved three shipments
of lettuce and one shipment each of sweet corn, garden cress,
and okra sent to Indiana alleged to be in violation of the
Federal Seed Act. The alleged violations, while not the same for
all shipments, were as follows:
- false labeling as to
germination percentages; and
- failure to keep required records.
AMS administers the Federal Seed
Act with the assistance of state seed officials. Seed regulatory
officials in Indiana cooperated with AMS in making the
investigations. The Federal Seed Act is a truth-in-labeling law
designed to protect farmers and consumers who purchase seed. |
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