Although the number of E. coli outbreaks associated with strawberries and other berries are relatively low, this mentioned E. coli O157:H7 outbreak involving strawberries, indicates a gap in our knowledge (CDC, 2011). This knowledge gap relates to the ability E. coli O157:H7 to survive during the growth stages of the strawberry plant. Considering the limited amount of post-harvest intervention strategies to kill E. coli O157:H7 on berries, along with a scarcity of published reports on survival of this pathogen on berry plants and fruit, an understanding its survival behavior preharvest is critical for developing strategies to prevent future foodborne outbreaks. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to determine how long E. coli can survive on strawberry plants contaminated at various times during growing. Determining the
persistence of viable E. coli on a strawberry plant contaminated during the growing period is also essential for making recommendations on Good Agricultural Practices for the strawberry
industry.