THE PERSISTENCE OF FOODBORNE PATHOGENS IN POSTHARVEST PROCESSING ENVIRONMENTS IS A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO FOODBORNE OUTBREAKS. A RAPID AND RELIABLE VERIFICATION TOOL IS URGENTLY NEEDED TO ENSURE SURFACE SANITATION EFFECTIVENESS AND ADDRESS CROSS-CONTAMINATION RISKS IN FOOD PROCESSING PLANTS. THE CURRENT FOOD INDUSTRY HEAVILY RELIES ON ATP BIOLUMINESCENCE SWAB TESTS AS A RAPID VERIFICATION METHOD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING. HOWEVER, THESE TESTS PRIMARILY ASSESS SURFACE CLEANLINESS RATHER THAN ACTUAL MICROBIAL INACTIVATION, OFTEN RESULTING IN LOW SENSITIVITY AND ACCURACY. TO ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES, THIS RESEARCH AIMS TO DEVELOP A REAL-TIME, ON-SITE PLATFORM FOR VERIFYING THE EFFICACY OF SURFACE SANITATION PROCESSES IN FOOD PROCESSING ENVIRONMENTS. THE SPECIFIC RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ARE: 1) TO DEVELOP A BIOMIMETIC SURROGATE INTERFACE (BSI) COMBINED WITH VIBRATIONAL SPECTROSCOPY AND MACHINE LEARNING TO PREDICT SANITATION EFFECTIVENESS ON ZONE 1 AND ZONE 2 SURFACES ACROSS VARIOUS WEAR LEVELS; 2) TO ENHANCE THE PREDICTIVE ACCURACY OF SANITATION EFFICACY AGAINST BIOFILMS BY INCORPORATING THE BSI WITH FOOD-GRADE ARTIFICIAL BIOFILM MATRICES; AND 3) TO DEMONSTRATE THE PERFORMANCE OF THE BSI-BASED APPROACH UNDER PILOT-SCALE AND IN SITU PROCESS CONDITIONS AND BENCHMARK ITS INTEGRATION WITH CONVENTIONAL METHODS. THE SUCCESS OF THIS RESEARCH WILL ENHANCE THE VERIFICATION OF SURFACE SANITATION EFFICACY, REDUCE MICROBIAL CROSS-CONTAMINATION RISK, AND SUPPORT REDUCED USE OF WATER AND SANITIZERS, PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND BENEFITING ECOSYSTEMS. THE LONG-TERM IMPACT OF THIS RESEARCH IS IN SUPPORT OF PROGRAM AREA GOALS BY DEVELOPING AND VALIDATING ADVANCED AND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES OR PROCESSES FOR CLEANING AND SANITATION TO EFFECTIVELY REDUCE THE PRESENCE OF ENTERIC PATHOGENS IN FOOD PROCESSING FACILITIES.