Dr. Harris’s research program is in the area of microbial food safety with a focus on the microbiology of fresh fruits and vegetables and nutmeats. Her research team has worked to develop and validate standard methods for inoculation and recovery of pathogens from a range of produce items. They have used these methods to evaluate the behavior of food borne pathogens in juices and on fruits, vegetables and nutmeats stored under a variety of conditions. The methods have also been used to evaluate various sanitizers for their efficacy in reducing microbial populations on various cut and intact produce surfaces and to validate thermal and non-thermal processes for treating nuts.