** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** SANITATION WITHIN DRY FOOD PROCESSING SETTINGS TO PREVENT ENVIRONMENTAL CROSS-CONTAMINATION AND ENSURE THE FOOD SAFETY OF LOW MOISTURE FOODS(LMF) HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AS A CHALLENGE FOR MORE THAN A DECADE. SPECIFICALLY, ENVIRONMENTALSALMONELLAPOSES A NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC HEALTH RISK, CAUSING INDUSTRY RECALLS, ECONOMIC BURDEN, AND CONSUMER MORBIDITY/MORTALITY.RECENT OUTBREAKS OF SALMONELLA ASSOCIATED WITH ENVIRONMENTAL CROSS-CONTAMINATION HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF DRY SURFACE SANITIZATION CONTROLS TO ELIMINATE PERSISTENT PATHOGENS. DESPITE THE EXISTING THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES, LIMITED STUDIES ASSESS MICROBIAL LETHALITY ON FOOD PROCESSING SURFACES, NOR IDENTIFY A SUITABLE SURROGATE AND SURFACE INOCULATION PROTOCOL FOR THERMAL SURFACE SANITIZATION STUDIES. SIMILARLY, HARD-TO-CLEAN LOCATIONS IN FOOD PROCESSING EQUIPMENT, WHICH MAY INCLUDE CLOSE-FITTING METAL-TO-METAL PARTS (E.G., RIVET, JOINTS), WHEEL CASTERS, OR INTERLOCKING MESH IN CONVEYOR BELTS, MAY SHELTER PATHOGENS AND FURTHER INHIBIT THE EFFICACY OF SANITATION APPROACHES. THUS, HARD-TO-CLEAN LOCATIONS ARE A SIGNIFICANT BARRIER FOR EFFECTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION REGIMENS, CONFIRMING THE NEED FOR METHODS TO CONDUCT EFFECTIVE THERMAL SURFACE SANITIZATION TO INACTIVATE PATHOGENS WITHIN HARD-TO-CLEAN LOCATIONS.THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO ELIMINATE PATHOGENS WITHIN HARD-TO-CLEAN LOCATIONS OF FOOD PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT. THIS INCLUDES DEVELOPING PROTOCOLS FOR SURFACE INOCULATION AND THERMAL SURFACE SANITIZATION INTERVENTIONS (I.E., HOT AIR, SATURATED STEAM, AND SUPERHEATED STEAM) FORSALMONELLAAND SUITABLE BACTERIAL SURROGATES. SECONDLY, DEVELOPING AND VALIDATING A PREDICTIVE MODEL FOR THERMAL SURFACE INACTIVATION OF SALMONELLLAFROM SUPERHEATED STEAM WITHIN HARD-TO-CLEAN LOCATIONS OF VARIABLE DIMENSIONSWITHIN FOOD PROCESSING FACILITIES. LASTLY, STEAM TENTING WILL BE ASSESSED AS A THERMAL SURFACE SANITIZATION INTERVENTION TO IMPROVE MICROBIAL LETHALITY WITHIN THESE LOCATIONS. THESE FINDINGS WILL OPTIMIZE THE THERMAL SURFACE SANITIZATION APPROACHES FOR HARD-TO-CLEAN LOCATIONS IN FOOD PROCESSING EQUIPMENT BY PROVIDING THE INDUSTRY EVIDENCE-BASED GUIDELINES AND NOVEL STRATEGIES FOR THERMAL INACTIVATION OF SALMONELLA WITHIN LMF SETTINGS.