Microbiome-informed Computational Models and Decision Support Tools to Predict Fresh Produce Spoilage: Spinach as a Model System

Goal 1: Collect spinach at farms and processing facilities; conduct classical microbiological testing and 16S metagenomics; perform descriptive and inferential statistics on microbial and microbiome dataGoal 2: Conduct shelf life studies with spinach collected in Obj. 1 to track changes in microbiome and measure timing and extent of spinach spoilage under laboratory conditions that simulate typical environmental and management conditions at retailGoal 3: Develop a computational model of microbial dynamics over shelf life to serve as a decision support tool that allows for spinach spoilage prediction and assessment of different spoilage control strategies