Washington, DC
July 12, 2007
The U.S. Department of Agriculture today PENNSYLVANIA FIRM
PAYS $4,025 TO SETTLE
SEED CASE
announced that a Warminster, Pennsylvania, seed company has paid
USDA $4,025 to settle alleged violations of the Federal Seed
Act.
The company, W. Atlee Burpee Company, Inc., 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 nine shipments
consisting of garden beans, lettuce, and tomato seed alleged to
be in violation of the Federal Seed Act; there was one shipment
to Maryland, two shipments to Texas, and six shipments to North
Carolina.
The alleged violations, while not the same for all shipments,
were:
- false labeling as to
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 Texas
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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