Conditions are ripe for an outstanding apple season for Sage Fruit Co. in Yakima, WA. “The winter months are very important for domestic crops. Condition plays a big part in what volume is shipped from December through February,” President Chuck Sinks told The Produce News on Dec. 7. “The fruit we have in storage right now has great storability. So that should keep things on schedule.” As a general rule, he said more apples are shipped during the fall and winter than during the spring and summer.

Now that the Food & Drug Administration has proposed two new food-safety regulations, Produce Marketing Association experts jumped in front Jan. 17 to lay out the new proposals and field questions from members during back-to-back webinars.

Required under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the two regulations, released Jan. 4, propose new safety standards for produce and new preventive controls for a wide variety of FDA-registered food facilities. Comments on the more than 1,200-page rules are due May 16.

The office staff of the New York Apple Association in Fishers, NY, was bubbling with excitement on Jan. 17 when the U.S. Postal Service notified them that the Northern Spy apple, an older but beloved cooking apple, was chosen as one of four U.S. apples to represent a new postcard stamp collection.

Marc Holbik, director of grower relations for Ecoripe Tropicals in Medley, FL, told The Produce News that the company carries a widely diverse line of Asian fruits and vegetables.

“The line was developed specifically for a wide range of Chinese, Indian and Southeast Asian cuisines,” said Mr. Holbik. “These foods and the dishes they are used in have become increasingly popular in North America.”

Peter Forrence, one of three cousins who own Forrence Orchards in Peru, NY, told The Produce News that the key to the eastern apple deal this year is that there are limited supplies. Overall, New York’s apple production is down by 60 percent due to freeze and frost damage.

“Supplies are running out rapidly,” said Mr. Forrence. “And demand continues to be strong. The Western U.S. had a sizeable crop, and some of that fruit is working its way to the East to fill the demand.