Glossary

Designed to promote fair trading practices in the marketing of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables sold through interstate and foreign commerce. The Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) prohibits unfair and fraudulent practices and provides ways to enforcing contracts. PACA requires anyone buying or selling commercial quantities of fruit and vegetables and some products made from these perishable items to be licensed and to behave with a code of conduct that is enforceable.

A remedy for produce sellers to obtain payment on undisputed amounts owed for produce sales in or to the U.S. The PACA trust does not cover sales to Canada or other countries. If there is a legitimate dispute resulting in non-payment, then dispute resolution proceedings are used rather than the PACA trust.

The P&S Act establishes trust protection for certain producers and growers doing business with packers and live poultry dealers. Two trusts, a packer trust and a poultry trust, are authorized in the Packers and Stockyards Act (P&S Act).

Merchandise that is finished, packaged and ready to ship, pending the seller receiving notice of the buyer's instructions of when or where to ship the goods to.

When something is treated equal in all respects, at the same pace or rate, in the same degree or proportion, or enjoying the same rights without bias or preference.

Collaboration among lenders to share in the risk of a larger loan.

In financial terms when payment is paid in the form of notes, preferred stock, interest, dividends, or equity instead of cash. This is commonly seen in mezzanine debt agreements where a portion of the interest will be paid in cash and a portion will be PIK. 

Accounting method for work-in-process evaluation to determine the current cost of long term contracts. This is often a good indication that progress billings exist within a company.