Washington, DC
October 23, 2007
The
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that a
Hall, N.Y., seed company has paid USDA $1,400 to settle alleged
violations of the Federal Seed Act.
The company, Seedway LLC,
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 three shipments
of a grass seed mixture, garden bean, and winter rye seed made
to Maryland, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
The alleged violations, while not the same for all shipments,
were:
- false labeling as to
germination test date, noxious-weed seeds, pure seed, and
variety name; and
- failure to keep and or
supply a complete record of the seed.
AMS administers the act with the
help of state seed officials. Seed regulatory officials in
Maryland and Pennsylvania 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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