FRESH PRODUCE HAS BEEN INCREASINGLY ASSOCIATED WITH CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL CONTAMINANTS SUCH AS PESTICIDES AND FOODBORNE PATHOGENS. EARLY AND RAPID DETECTION OF CONTAMINANTS IN PRODUCE IS AN IMPORTANT STEP IN ENSURING FOOD SAFETY. HOWEVER, SEPARATION AND SIMULTANEOUS DETECTION OF BOTH CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL CONTAMINANTS PRESENT A SIGNIFICANT ANALYTICAL CHALLENGE. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVES ARE TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE NOVEL SEPARATION AND EXTRACTION METHODS FOR THE EFFICIENT CAPTURE OF FOODBORNE CONTAMINANTS FROM FRESH PRODUCE AND DEVELOP A SURFACE-ENHANCED RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY (SERS) PLATFORM FOR RAPID DETECTION OF CONTAMINANTS IN SAMPLES. HAVING SUITABLE AND SENSITIVE TECHNIQUES IS CRITICAL FOR RAPID DETECTION OF CONTAMINANTS IN FRESH PRODUCE PRODUCTS. THE RESULTS FROM THIS PROJECT ARE IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN THE SAFETY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SYSTEMS.