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The autoinducer-2 (AI-2) molecule produced by bacteria as part of quorum sensing is considered to be a universal inducer signal in bacteria because it reportedly influences gene expression in a variety of both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. The objective of this study was to determine whether selected fresh produce and processed foods have AI-2–like activity and whether specific food additives can act as AI-2 mimics and result in AI-2–like activity. The luminescence-based response of the reporter strain Vibrio harveyi BB170 was used as the basis for determining AI-2 activity in the selected foods and food ingredients. Maximum AI-2 activity was seen on the frozen fish sample (203-fold, compared with the negative control) followed by tomato, cantaloupe, carrots, tofu, and milk samples. Interestingly, some samples were capable of inhibiting AI-2 activity. Turkey patties showed the highest inhibition (99.8 …