U.S. fresh produce food safety activities were of great interest to the more than one hundred attendees at the 2^nd International Congress for Food Safety of the Caribbean, held in Mexico City, October 10-13. Dr. David Gombas, sr. vice president food safety and technology at United Fresh, briefed the audience on recent food safety issues and industry-developed food safety compliance programs. "Fresh produce food safety standards must be consistent, on a commodity-specific basis, and federally mandated in order to be most credible to consumers, whether the produce is grown in the United States or imported," Dr. Gombas told the group. As part of the Congress, Dr. Gombas also served as lead instructor for a 2-day advanced HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) Workshop on Validation and Verification course, certified by the International HACCP Alliance. For more information about the Congress or HACCP, please contact Dr. David Gombas, 202-303-3411.