SAVANNAH, GA -- As is increasingly the case when members of the produce industry gather, food safety was top-of-mind at the 12th annual Southeastern Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference, held Jan. 7-10 at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center.

The conference offered two days of educational sessions designed to help growers, shippers and transporters navigate the current maze of federal food-safety regulations and get ready for even more stringent guidelines certainly on the way from Washington, DC.

The cheerful, booming voice of Bob Strube will be heard no more. Robert William Frederick Strube Sr. died Jan. 14 at age 91.

He headed Strube Celery & Vegetable Co. in Chicago, which was founded in 1913 by Fred Strube. In addition to leading many national industry advancement causes, he may be best remembered for relentless, years-long leadership that eventually built a modern produce market for Chicago.

Customs house brokers have been preparing their customers -- and international produce shippers -- for a new phase of regulatory enforcement that will soon take effect.

U.S. Customs & Border Protection will begin enforcing the Importer Security Filing rule Jan. 26 with stiff financial penalties.

VIENNA, VA -- The U.S. Apple Association praised the U.S. Department of Agriculture's announced intended purchases of apples and apple products. The $18.6 million overall apples and apple products buy was first announced by the Obama Administration in November 2009, but amounts tentatively allotted for each category were revealed in mid-January.

As the extended cold snap in Florida wound down the week of Jan. 11, produce distributors and retailers in the Northeast were facing shortages and high prices on a number of items.