Fruit and Veg to the Mainland

You can't take fruits or vegatables to the mainland. Not even an apple or banana for a snack.

sorry, but this is not true. There is a long list of permitted fruits/vegs/plant parts on one of the gov't sites, I think it is the usda site. We keep a copy handy for guests that are returning to the states. Got it at the Ag Fair one year. Bananas are allowed, in fact we bring our own, but no stems or leaves. Can't bring mangoes. Apples for some reason are not permitted even though you might have brought then in and they certainly aren't locally grown. Citrus are fine, tomatoes, lots of things are ok. Sometimes the feds want to look at them but not usually.

You can't take fruits or vegatables to the mainland. Not even an apple or banana for a snack.

Sorry for giving misinformation.
I'm always asked if I have any fruit or vegtables and just assumed it was illegal to bring with me when traveling to the states, which I shouldn't have.
I remember a couple times a custom's officer sitting behind a small desk with an apple on it and asking me if I had any fresh fruit. This was after I already cleared the Custom's line - where you hand the officer the form & asks you any questions, if needed.
They also have a handmade palm hat tacked up on the wall, with a sign saying "not allowed". Or something like that.
This is at Stt Cyril E. King Airport.

Here is a link that will help answer your questions about bringing local fruits and vegtables into the states for travelers bringing food into the US for personal use.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/82/~/travelers-bringing-food-into-the-u.s.-for-personal-use

Again sorry!

that's a much more comprehensive set of facts than the one I'm familiar with, which is just a page listing what fruits veg etc are allowed or prohibited. We only got to know the rules by asking...and apples are ALWAYS an issue....I don't understand why they allow citrus fruits, but they do...so we strip our lime tree when going north...
years ago, after Hugo but before we knew the rules, I was nervous about carrying johnny cakes through customs but Cynthia who was George's wife at the domino Club used to make our kids jc's when we would come down without them, to check on our home rebuilding, and they would carry them to school for lunch the next day. Customs used to act like they were doing us a favor letting them through...!

Here is a link that list allowed and prohibited fruits and vegetables for Puerto Rico from the USDA website. There is no list for the USVI.
Maybe we follow PR's list??? :S

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/travel/content/wp_c_puerto_rico.shtml

I've seen the list in different form, and I think it had a cbp reference but the info itself looks very similar if not identical.

Thanks everyone!