**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES ARE AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE HUMAN DIET, BUT THEIR QUALITY OFTEN DETERIORATES BEFORE REACHING CONSUMERS DUE TO ONGOING BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES AND COMPOSITIONAL CHANGES.FRESHNESS IS AN IMPORTANT AND FLEETING STATE, AND ITS PROGRESSIVE LOSS AFTER HARVEST CANNOT BE EASILY EVALUATED. UNTIL NOW THIS RACE AGAINST TIME HAS BEEN ALMOST ENTIRELY SUBJECTIVE, MOSTLY BASED ON EXTERNAL VISUAL CRITERIA. TO THE CONSUMER, FRESHNESS IS SYNONYMOUS WITH PROXIMITY TO THE HARVEST TIME AND RETENTION OF NUTRITIONAL VALUE.THE CURRENT LACK OF OBJECTIVE INDICES FOR DEFININGFRESHNESSOF FRUITS OR VEGETABLES LIMITS OUR CAPACITY TO CONTROL PRODUCT QUALITY AND LEADS TO FOOD WASTE. IN THE PROPOSED WORK,WE WILL COMBINE MACHINE LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES AND MULTI-OMICS TOOLS TO UNDERSTAND POST-HARVEST SENESCENCE AND MICROBIAL SPOILAGE OF FRESH PRODUCE AND THEN DEVELOP A SIMPLE IMAGING APPROACH (FRESHID) TO EVALUATE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE QUALITY, PARTICULARLY NUTRITIONAL AND TEXTURE-RELATED ATTRIBUTES SUCH AS MATURITY, STORAGE ABILITY, AND FIRMNESS.THIS PROPOSED COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM WILL IDENTIFY THE GENES, PROTEINS AND COMPOUNDS THAT CAN SERVE ASFRESHNESS-INDICATORS AND WILL THEN USE THESE INDICATORS TODEVELOP OF AN ALGORITHM TO ACCURATELY ESTIMATE THE FRESHNESS AND/OR PRODUCE SPOILAGE.THE OUTCOMES OF THIS PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE MECHANISMS FOR EARLY DETECTION OF POOR-QUALITY PRODUCE AND, BY LEVERAGING THESE MECHANISMS THROUGHOUT THE FOOD PRODUCTION PIPELINE, UNDERSTAND HOW FOOD WASTE CAN BE REDUCED. ADDITIONALLY, THE FRESHID TOOLBOX OF MOLECULAR MARKERS ASSOCIATED WITH PLANT SENESCENCE CAN BE USED DURINGBREEDINGFOR PRE-HARVEST TRAITS THAT COULD DELAY POSTHARVEST SENESCENCE. THE GOALS OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH ARE ADVANCES IN BOTH BASIC RESEARCH AND APPLIED PLANT SCIENCE THAT WILL IMPACTFOOD SECURITY AND HUMAN HEALTH. THE DEVELOPED TOOL WOULD ALLOW A NEW LEVEL OF POST-HARVEST LOGISTICS, SUPPORTING AVAILABILITY OF HIGH-QUALITY, NUTRITIOUS, AND FRESH PRODUCE.