Washington, DC
January 13, 2009
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s (USDA)
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced today that
Lesco Inc., a seed company operating out of Cleveland, Ohio, has
paid $1,050 to settle alleged violations of the Federal Seed
Act. The case was settled in agreement with AMS officials. The
company neither admitted nor denied the charges brought against
them.
This settlement resolves a case which involved a shipment of
tall fescue seed to Missouri, a shipment of a grass seed mixture
to Pennsylvania, and a shipment of a grass seed mixture to Ohio,
a portion of which was reshipped to Indiana. The alleged
violations were as follows:
- false labeling in regard
to pure seed and inert matter; and
- failure to show the name,
percentage, and germination percentage of seed present in an
amount greater than five percent.
AMS administers the Federal Seed
Act with the assistance of state seed officials. The
investigation was completed through the joint efforts of AMS and
seed regulatory officials in Missouri, Pennsylvania, and
Indiana. The Federal Seed Act is a truth-in-labeling law
designed to protect farmers and consumers who buy seed. |
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