CURRENT WASHING STRATEGIES FOR FRESH-CUT PRODUCE RELY HEAVILY ON CHEMICALS THAT ARE DETRIMENTAL TO BOTH ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH. THIS PROJECT PROPOSES A NOVEL HURDLE TECHNOLOGY BY COMBINING ULTRAFINE BUBBLES AND OZONE AS AN ALTERNATIVE INTERVENTION STRATEGY DURING THE FLUME-WASHING OF LEAFY GREENS. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TECHNOLOGY WILL BE SUPPORTED BY A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH INTEGRATING ENGINEERING, MICROBIOLOGY, AND SENSORY SCIENCE AIMED AT ENHANCING THE MICROBIOCIDAL EFFICACY OF THE WASHING STRATEGY WHILE MINIMIZING QUALITY DEGRADATION OF FRESH-CUT PRODUCE. TO OVERCOME INTRINSIC CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH AQUEOUS OZONE, THE PROPOSED PROJECT PLAN WILL ESTABLISH A QUANTITATIVE PROCESS TO PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS SYSTEMATICALLY FOR THE ULTRAFINE OZONE BUBBLE SOLUTION. TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH MICROBIOLOGY ANALYSIS OVER A WIDE RANGE OF PROCESSING CONDITIONS, THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A FAST SCREENING PROTOCOL COUPLING A MICROTITER SCREENING SYSTEM WITH A MACHINE LEARNING-BASED HYBRID ALGORITHM TO IDENTIFY A TARGETED INITIAL PROCESSING DOMAIN. TO FURTHER EVALUATE THE DYNAMIC FLUME WASHING PROCESS WITH ULTRAFINE OZONE BUBBLE SOLUTIONS, ANENGINEERED BENCH-TOP FLUME WASHER WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR MICROBIOLOGY ANALYSIS AND SENSORY TESTS. KNOWLEDGE, PROCESSES, AND METHODOLOGIES OBTAINED FROM THIS PROJECT CAN BE EXTRAPOLATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF OTHER CURRENT/FUTURE WASHING STRATEGIES, THEREFORE ENHANCING THE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF THE FRESH-CUT PRODUCE SECTOR WHILE ACHIEVING LONG-TERM STABILITY OF THE US AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SYSTEM.