The Florida company was ordered to pay $111,200 in fines for pesticide misuse.
By Associated Press
Published October 23, 2005
PALM BEACH - Publix Super Markets will not sell grape tomatoes grown by Ag-Mart Inc. the Florida company facing pesticide violations in two states.
Customers have not complained in any of Publix's 866 stores in five states, but company officials said they were pulling the Santa Sweets brand of grape tomatoes as a preventive measure.
"In light of the seriousness of this situation, we wanted to be able to take a step back and do a more thorough investigation," said Publix spokeswoman Anne Hendricks.
Publix may decide to sell the tomatoes after its own investigation, Hendricks said.
David Sheon, a spokesman for Ag-Mart said no other grocery chains have stopped selling the product.
"Not only has there never been a doubt about the safety of the food, but the overwhelming evidence is that the company has been extremely responsible," Sheon said.
Ag-Mart was ordered to pay $111,200 in fines in Florida for pesticide misuse by the state Agriculture Department. The 88 citations included violations of regulations designed to ensure consumer and worker safety.
The violations were uncovered during an investigation into the births several months ago of three malformed babies to Mexican farmworkers in Immokalee. The babies' parents worked in Ag-Mart tomato fields in Florida and North Carolina and lived near each other during a critical time.
The state Health Department has said it found no definitive link between the agricultural chemicals and the birth defects.
Agriculture officials in North Carolina have cited Ag-Mart for 369 pesticide violations allegedly committed on two farms in that state.
