Date of Graduation

5-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Food Science (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Food Science

Advisor/Mentor

Gibson, Kristen E.

Committee Member

Crandall, Philip G.

Second Committee Member

McWhirt, Amanda

Third Committee Member

Shoulders, Catherine

Keywords

Food Safety; Grower; Implementation; Produce Safety; Risk Managment; Strawberry

Abstract

Outbreaks of foodborne illness due to fresh produce are a continued threat to both the publichealth and the economy in the United States. Though there are many factors which influence the perpetuation of foodborne pathogens, the inability of the food industry to curtail this issue indicates systemic failure of interventions aimed at improving food safety practices. In this dissertation, we detail the efforts made over the past few decades to provide training to food producers and food handlers as well as recommendations that have been made for improvement based on these studies. By borrowing from more advanced fields of study such as implementation science, we will outline and evaluate a novel method for approaching context and commodity specific education for the food industry.

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