Food Protection Trends - May/June 2021 - 358

GENERAL INTEREST PAPER

Sanitizers and Disinfectants: A Retail Food
and Foodservice Perspective
Angela M. Fraser,1* Jeffrey Anderson,2 Juan Goncalves,2 Elaine Black,3 Anna Starobin,3
David Buckley,4 Dale Grinstead,4 Chip Manuel5 and Jill Hollingsworth6
1

Dept. of Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences, Box 340316, 223 Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA

Procter & Gamble, 4315 N. Shore Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45202, USA

Ecolab, 8300 Capital Dr., St. Paul, MN 55102, USA

Diversey Inc., 17211 Belmont Stakes Lane, Fort Mill, SC 29708, USA

Gojo, P.O. Box 991, Akron, OH 44309, USA

Chemstar, 120 Interstate W. Pkwy. # 100, Lithia Springs, GA 30122, USA

SUMMARY
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has
brought heightened attention to the importance of cleaning,
sanitizing, and disinfecting in retail food and foodservice
establishments. In response, major governmental agencies
have emphasized the need to frequently disinfect high-touch
surfaces. While this recommendation may seem straightforward and achievable, it is far more nuanced and complex.
In the retail food and foodservice industry, sanitization is
a routine, common practice defined and recommended in
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Code.
Hence, sanitizers, rather than disinfectants, are the main
antimicrobial products used in these settings. It is important
to emphasize that sanitizers and disinfectants are not interchangeable products, so they may be inadvertently misused.
Therefore, end users need to understand the differences
of when, why, and how both can be used in retail food and
foodservice settings. The aim of this paper is to increase
end users' knowledge and awareness about the proper use
of sanitizers and disinfectants in retail food and foodservice
establishments. This paper is organized into six sections-
Antimicrobial Products: Sanitizers and Disinfectants, FDA
Food Code, Regulation of Sanitizers and Disinfectants,
Understanding EPA-Registered Labels, Emerging Issues, and
Current and Future Trends in Sanitizing and Disinfecting.
When used properly, sanitizers and disinfectants are powerful
tools that can keep retail food and foodservice operations
safe from pathogens that cause infectious disease.

and breathing. Based on what we currently know, it is not
transmitted through food. Even so, concerns have been
raised about its spread in retail food and foodservice
establishments, resulting in changes in restaurant and
grocery store operations, as well as contributing to the
closure of thousands of restaurants across the United
States (5, 17). In response, major U.S. government
agencies (i.e., the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA],
and the Food and Drug Administration [FDA]) published
a series of recommendations, one of which promotes the
frequent disinfection of high-touch surfaces (2, 12, 15).
While this recommendation may seem straightforward
and achievable, it is in fact far more nuanced and complex.
In the retail food and foodservice industry, sanitization
is a routine, common practice defined and recommended
in the FDA Food Code. Hence, sanitizers, rather than
disinfectants, are the main antimicrobial product used
in the food industry. Sanitizers and disinfectants are
not interchangeable products, but due to complex
regulatory frameworks and lengthy labels, they may
be inadvertently misused. Therefore, it is important
to understand the differences in when, why, and how
both can be properly used in retail food and foodservice
establishments. The aim of this paper is to increase end
users' knowledge and awareness about the proper use of
sanitizers and disinfectants in retail food and foodservice
establishments.

OVERVIEW
COVID-19 has brought heightened attention to the
importance of cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting in
retail food and foodservice establishments. Severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the
virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),
is primarily transmitted through person-to-person contact
via respiratory droplets from coughing, sneezing, talking,

ANTIMICROBIAL PRODUCTS: SANITIZERS
AND DISINFECTANTS
Sanitizers and disinfectants are often complex formulations
that contain at least one or more active ingredient(s). These
active ingredients provide the intended antimicrobial effect
(i.e., reduction or elimination of targeted microorganisms).
Characteristics of common active ingredients or their
blends are presented in Table 1. While Table 1 describes

Author for correspondence. Phone: +1 864.656.3652; Fax: +1 864.656.0331; Email: afraser@clemson.edu

358

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