OVER THE LAST DECADE, SPROUTS HAVE BEEN A PERSISTENT PUBLIC SAFETY CHALLENGE DUE TO ITS ASSOCIATION WITH NUMEROUS FOODBORNE OUTBREAKS, PRIMARILY INVOLVING SALMONELLA, E. COLI O157:H7 AND NON-O157 SHIGA TOXIN PRODUCING E. COLI. EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES REVEAL THAT IN MOST OUTBREAKS SEEDS USED FOR SPROUTING ARE THE PRINCIPAL SOURCE OF CONTAMINATION. THEREFORE, SEED DISINFECTION PRIOR TO SPROUTING IS CRITICAL TO PREVENT SPROUTS ASSOCIATED FOODBORNE ILLNESS. ALTHOUGH NUMEROUS CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL METHODS HAVE BEEN EVALUATED FOR THEIR ANTIMICROBIAL POTENTIAL, PATHOGEN CONTROL AND ELIMINATION ON SEEDS CONTINUE TO BE A CHALLENGE FOR THE SPROUT INDUSTRY. MOREOVER, SPROUTS CAN ALSO GET CONTAMINATED DURING SPROUTING, HARVESTING AND STORAGE. THEREFORE, SEED TREATMENT BY ITSELF IS UNLIKELY TO ELIMINATE CONTAMINATION FROM SPROUTS. THUS, THERE IS A NEED FOR COMPREHENSIVE INTERVENTION STRATEGIES, WHICH ARE SAFE, EFFECTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE AT VARIOUS STAGES OF THE SPROUT PRODUCTION SYSTEM. IN THIS REGARD, THE USE OF PROBIOTICS TO CONTROL FOODBORNE PATHOGENS ON SPROUTS OFFERS A VIABLE AND SAFE ANTIMICROBIAL ALTERNATIVE. MOREOVER, CONDITIONS THAT FAVOR PATHOGEN GROWTH DURING SPROUTING ALSO FAVOR PROBIOTIC GROWTH. CONSEQUENTLY, USE OF PROBIOTICS AS AN ANTIMICROBIAL HURDLE ON SEEDS WILL PROVIDE FOR SUSTAINED ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY DURING PRODUCTION (GERMINATION AND SPROUT GROWTH), HARVEST AND POST-HARVEST STORAGE, THEREBY PROVIDING PROCESS CONTROLS APPLICABLE TO SPROUT PRODUCTION. HENCE, THIS STUDY WILL EVALUATE THE APPLICATION OF PROBIOTICS AS A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE ANTIMICROBIAL HURDLE TO ENHANCE THE MICROBIAL SAFETY OF SPROUTS. ULTIMATELY, WE ANTICIPATE THAT SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THIS RESEARCH WILL HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE STRATEGIES THAT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED AS ANTIMICROBIAL HURDLES TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FOODBORNE ILLNESS AND IMPROVE MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY OF PRODUCE, INCLUDING SPROUTS.