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October, 22 2025

Expanding the Potential of Peroxide

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The New FDA Amendment on Hydrogen Peroxide

As of September 3, 2025, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) introduced a significant regulatory update that will transform how we approach food industry safety and disinfection. This new amendment to food additive regulations officially expands the approved uses – and potential – of hydrogen peroxide in food production, creating unprecedented opportunities for advanced hydrogen disinfection technologies like SteraMist ionized Hydrogen Peroxide (iHP). 

Understanding the New Amendment for Hydrogen Peroxide Disinfection

Up until this revision, the FDA has long approved hydrogen peroxide for specific food applications under 21 CFR 184.1366 with uses as an antimicrobial agent in milk and whey, an oxidizing agent in dried eggs, and a bleaching agent in various food products. However, these applications traditionally required complete removal of hydrogen peroxide residue during processing. 

The new amendment, petitioned by ToxStrategies on behalf of Cargill Inc., significantly broadens these applications. The updated regulation now allows hydrogen peroxide use as an antimicrobial, oxidizing, reducing, and bleaching agent across a wide range of food categories with no limitations other than good manufacturing practice (GMP) – provided that residual hydrogen peroxide is continuously removed during processing through appropriate chemical or physical means. 

The previous regulation and this expansion covers an extensive range of food categories, including bakery products, cereals, dairy products, meat and poultry, fish and shellfish, vegetable products, and nut and seed products. Most importantly, the petition specifically requested approval for “use in food in general,” indicating a broad scope of regulatory change. 

What This Means for SteraMist iHP Disinfection

This FDA ruling represents a breakthrough in a longstanding obstacle in delivering the full potential of SteraMist iHP technology to food production processes.  

Here’s why this development is so significant: 

Food Safety Regulatory Validation

  • The FDA’s formal approval validates the safety and efficacy of food-grade hydrogen peroxide (CAS Number: 7722-84-1) – the only active ingredient in SteraMist BIT Solution. This regulatory backing provides the confidence food industry professionals need to adopt SteraMist and other advanced hydrogen peroxide-based disinfection systems. 

Perfect Alignment with FDA Requirements

  • SteraMist iHP technology naturally aligns with the FDA’s requirement that no residual hydrogen peroxide remains on food products demonstrated in a study conducted by the USDA in the Journal of Food Protection, found here.
  • SteraMist is applied, the ionized hydrogen peroxide completely decomposes into oxygen and humidity and dissipates, leaving no harmful residues. This unique characteristic makes it an ideal solution for food production environments where both efficacy and safety are critical.

Established and Proven Antimicrobial Efficacy

  • SteraMist has already demonstrated effectiveness against the most concerning foodborne pathogens, including Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli. With the new FDA framework in place, food processors can now confidently deploy this technology throughout their operations. 

New Applications Across the Food Supply Chain

The expanded regulatory framework also opens up multiple new applications for SteraMist technology:

Food Packaging & Storage Operations

  • SteraMist effectively decontaminates packaging materials and storage areas, preventing cross-contamination between products and maintaining the integrity of stored goods. This use is especially important for facilities handling multiple product lines or facing higher risks of cross-contamination. 

Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics

  • Transportation across the entire supply chain can benefit from SteraMist disinfection. Trailers, cargo containers, and transport vehicles can be quickly and thoroughly disinfected with a variety of SteraMist application options without leaving residues that might contaminate food products during transit. 

Replacing Traditional Methods: Moving Beyond ETO and Chlorine

This regulatory development also positions SteraMist as a superior alternative to these traditional disinfection methods that have significant drawbacks: 

Ethylene Oxide (EtO) Replacement

  • Ethylene oxide has long been used for sterilization in food-related applications, though recent discoveries highlight serious health and environmental concerns. EtO is classified as a carcinogen and requires extensive aeration periods to remove residues. SteraMist offers comparable efficacy without the health risks or lengthy processing times, making it an ideal EtO replacement for food industry applications.

Chlorine Alternative

  • While chlorine-based disinfectants have been industry standards, they can form harmful byproducts, cause corrosion to equipment, and leave residues that affect food taste and quality. SteraMist provides superior pathogen elimination without these drawbacks, offering a cleaner alternative for food processing environments. 

Looking Forward in Food Safety Disinfection

The FDA’s hydrogen peroxide amendment creates a significant competitive advantage for SteraMist in the multi-billion-dollar food safety market. This regulatory backing allows the technology to move beyond simply disinfecting food production environments to becoming an integral part of food safety protocols that directly relate to food products themselves. 

Food processors now have regulatory confidence to implement SteraMist technology across their operations, knowing that they’re using an FDA-recognized approach to food safety. This regulatory validation, combined with the technology’s proven efficacy and residue-free operation, positions SteraMist as the next-generation solution for food industry disinfection. 

As the food industry continues to prioritize safety, sustainability, and efficiency, the FDA’s hydrogen peroxide amendment represents a crucial step forward. For food processors, manufacturers, and logistics companies, this regulatory change opens the door to implementing more effective, safer disinfection protocols throughout their operations. 

The combination of regulatory backing, proven efficacy, and environmental safety makes SteraMist technology uniquely positioned to transform food industry disinfection practices. As we move forward, this FDA amendment will likely be remembered as the catalyst that enabled widespread adoption of advanced hydrogen peroxide disinfection technology throughout the global food supply chain. Learn more about SteraMist iHP disinfection in the food industry here.