MOST CONSUMERS DETERMINE WHICH FOODS, IF ANY, THEY DEEM RISKY BASED ON THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES WITH FOODBORNE ILLNESS OR CAUTIONARY TALES AND ADVICE THEY MAY HAVE RECEIVED FROM OTHERS. MANY INDIVIDUALS WOULD NOT VIEW DRIED FOODS, SUCH AS NUTS, DRIED FRUITS, OR POWDERED FOODS AS RISKY, CATEGORIZING THEM AS READY-TO-EAT. HOWEVER, SOME OF THESE FOODS MAY BE AN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT THAT HAS BEEN MINIMALLY PROCESSED, SUCH AS SUN-DRYING OR CONVECTIVE AIR DRYING, WHICH MAY NOT REDUCE PATHOGENS THAT CAN CONTAMINATE THESE PRODUCTS FROM THE OUTSIDE ENVIRONMENT. FURTHERMORE, PROCESSING PLANTS MAY HAVE CONTAMINATION EVENTS, PARTICULARLY THROUGH THE INTRODUCTION OF MOISTURE, THAT PUT THEIR OTHERWISE SAFE PRODUCTS AT RISK. WHILE PATHOGENS IN A LMF ENVIRONMENT WILL NOT GROW DUE TO THE LACK OF AVAILABLE WATER, SMALL AMOUNTS OF MOISTURE MAY SUSTAIN LONG-TERM SURVIVAL AND CREATE NEW AND RECURRING CONTAMINATION EVENTS. DRIED FOOD PRODUCERS, OR LOW-MOISTURE FOOD (LMF) PROCESSORS, SEEK STRATEGIES AND METHODS TO KEEP THEIR MANUFACTURING ENVIRONMENTS CLEAN AND SANITARY WITHOUT THE USE OF WATER TO PREVENT HARMFUL PATHOGENS FROM GAINING A FOOTHOLD IN THE ENVIRONMENT. THERE IS A LACK OF FUNDAMENTAL AND FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HOW MUCH MOISTURE CAN ALLOW BACTERIA TO PERSIST IN LMF PROCESSING ENVIRONMENTS, AND A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONSEQUENCES WHEN CONTAMINATED PRODUCT BUILDS-UP ON THE SURFACES OR EQUIPMENT BETWEEN CLEANING AND SANITATION PROCEDURES. THIS RESEARCH WILL GENERATE PRELIMINARY DATA AND FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE THAT WOULD INFORM A LARGER, COLLABORATIVE, MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH PROJECT THAT YIELDS DATA IMPORTANT TO CLEANING AND SANITATION INDUSTRIES AND LMF PROCESSORS. THE EXPERIMENTS WILL DEVELOP METHODS THAT CAN BE USED TO STUDY LOW-MOISTURE FOOD PERSISTENT BACTERIAL POPULATIONS (LMF PBPS), IDENTIFY A NONPATHOGENIC SURROGATE THAT MIMICS THE BEHAVIOR OF THE PATHOGEN FOR USE IN FUTURE STUDIES OR FOR IN-PLANT CLEANING AND SANITATION VALIDATION/VERIFICATION, AND INVESTIGATE HOW CROSS-CONTAMINATION CAN OCCUR FROM THESE PERSISTENT POPULATIONS TO NONCONTAMINATED PRODUCT.