Beyond the delectable ingredients gracing our plates and filling our glasses, a concealed realm of antimicrobial food safety preventive control technologies diligently work behind the scenes to assure the safety and excellence of our culinary experiences. In this review, chemical sanitizers, disinfectants, cleaners, antimicrobial processing aids, and food additives used for pathogen control and shelf-life extension are discussed in a way that can be communicated to the workforce responsible for implementation of the processes. Insights are shared about the current thinking regarding safe levels of the respective chemicals in our foods, how they are regulated, and best practices for implementation.

Chemicals incorporated into foods, applied to the surfaces of foods, or used to clean, disinfect, or sanitize food contact surfaces have one thing in common. They all have thresholds that, when exceeded, can cause harm. The methods to assess the risks and establish threshold tolerances for toxicity are far more advanced now than they were when Dr. Wiley conducted his "hygienic table trials," better known as "the Poison Squad." Nonetheless, the guiding principle of protecting the public from chemically adulterated foods is the same now as it was in the early 1900s when the original Pure Food and Drug Act, Meat Inspection Act, and Federal Insecticide Act were passed.