What's the Difference Between Disinfectant and Sanitizer in Food Service?

In a foodservice environment, knowing the difference between sanitization and disinfection is important to stay compliant with local regulations and keep your patrons healthy and safe.
A disinfectant is an agent that destroys or irreversibly inactivates bacteria and viruses, whereas sanitizer is an agent that reduces the amount of bacteria to a safe level, but does not necessarily eliminate all bacteria.
To put that into numbers, a disinfectant kills 100% of bacteria and viruses on a given surface when used properly, while a sanitizer removes as much as 99.9% of bacteria when used according to the manufacturer’s directions.
So, because disinfectant has a higher efficacy, it makes sense that it should be preferred to sanitizer, right? Wrong.
Normally, a disinfectant wouldn't be used in a food service environment, except maybe for deep cleaning and disinfection following a viral outbreak. Disinfectants can be used in a food area if the surface is rinsed with clean water afterward, but this is not common practice.
In the foodservice industry, sanitizer is what’s used for daily cleaning and sanitation protocols and in food prep areas.
Using a disinfectant when regulations call for a sanitizer breaks FDA compliance, which can be a legal liability for your business. This is because surfaces that have been disinfected need to be rinsed with water after for them to be food safe, otherwise there is harmful residue left behind. Sanitizer, on the other hand, can be left to air dry in food prep areas.
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