While there is little doubt that clean, healthy, organic produce is highly desirable, achieving this status can sometimes pose a problem -- particularly with more delicate fruits like strawberries that can be difficult to wash without causing physical damage. Through this project funded by a grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation, Dr. Suping Zhou and her team will work to identify human pathogens on s
trawberries, understand the potential points of contamination, and develop science-based methods and practices that can be applied to sustainable produce organic strawberries that are free from this potentially human pathogens contamination. This will be achieved by enlisting eight strawberry farms across four counties in Middle Tennessee and providing them with plots of organic strawberry. These plots will then be developed following the strict guidelines for organic strawberry production, and samples will be collected and tested, with their results entered into a database for reference. From this data, an effective strategy will be developed for best-case production, storage and marketing. The information and best practices developed in this project will be introduced in the State of Tennessee through the support of Tennessee State University and the Cooperative Extension Program, and, through the involvement of the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), be modified for adoption into other states. Ultimately, those involved in this project are working to enhance both the production and sustainability of the United States' strawberry industry.
