Food safety remains in the spotlight this year, in part due to the most recent high-profile foodborne illness outbreak linked to fresh produce. Substantial changes are needed to restore consumer confidence in produce safety, and to address regulators' and legislators' concerns.

An interactive town hall meeting and other educational workshops at Produce Marketing Association's 2008 Fresh Summit international convention and exposition, to be held Oct. 24-27 in Orlando, FL, will tackle this issue head on.

The 2008 fall produce season is underway and should be highlighted by good quantities of high-quality produce, even though some scattered areas around south Jersey, where the majority of the state's commercial crops are grown, received significant hail damage Aug. 10 to crops at certain farms.

WASHINGTON -- United Fresh Produce Association members spent little time celebrating the success of a newly passed farm bill at the group's recent Washington Public Policy Conference, even though it promises to deliver billions of dollars to support fruit and vegetable programs.

Instead, United Fresh members who traveled to the nation's capital during the annual conference focused on making sure promises are kept on funding the farm bill, along with a short list of legislative must-haves.

PARMA, ID -- With more than a century of farming expertise at work in many of its orchards, Idaho has long contributed to the production of Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Rome, Jonagold, Jonathan and Braeburn apples of the western United States.

Last year, as the result of spring freezes, the state saw a reduced crop, but 2008 is shaping up to be a good season for Idaho's apple varieties across the board.

"The Idaho apple industry is optimistic about this crop," said Candi Fitch, executive director of the Idaho Apple Commission.

WASHINGTON -- United Fresh Produce Association announced in mid- September that it has hired Kam Quarles as its new vice president of government relations and legislative affairs. With the addition of Mr. Quarles, United Fresh continues to bolster its presence on Capitol Hill for the remainder of 2008 while strengthening the association's role to address the key policy issues that affect the fresh produce industry before a new administration and Congress take office in 2009. Mr.

NAPLES, FL -- The Florida Tomato Committee is aggressively going after consumers with several new marketing programs to let them know that Florida tomatoes will soon be back on store shelves and are safe to eat.