Chemical Control

Chemical control is the part of a food safety program that governs which chemicals a food business keeps and how they are labeled, stored, mixed and used, so they never contaminate food or harm workers.

  • Food safety
  • Food safety programs

Bakeries and food plants depend on detergents, sanitizers, pest-control products, maintenance chemicals and lab reagents. FDA's manufacturing rule allows toxic materials in a plant only for four purposes: keeping the plant clean and sanitary, laboratory testing, maintaining and running plant equipment, and plant operations. Cleaners and sanitizers must be free of undesirable microbes and safe for how they're used. Every toxic cleaner, sanitizer and pesticide must be identified and stored so it can't reach food, food-contact surfaces or packaging. A chemical control program turns those duties into written steps for buying, labeling, storing, mixing, using and disposing of each product.

A cleaner stored above open ingredients, a sanitizer mixed too strong, or an unmarked spray bottle can each put chemicals into food. Food-contact sanitizers carry legal limits: FDA caps hypochlorite sanitizing solutions at 200 ppm available chlorine, and equipment must drain adequately before touching food. Mixing incompatible products, such as bleach and ammonia, can create toxic fumes. Pesticide labels are legally binding. Worker safety is part of the picture too, because OSHA requires labels, safety data sheets and training for hazardous chemicals on the job.

Key facts

Permitted uses for toxic materials in a plant
4 categories (21 CFR 117.35(b))
Hypochlorite sanitizer limit
Up to 200 ppm available chlorine (21 CFR 178.1010)
Safety data sheet format
16 standardized sections (OSHA HazCom)
Pesticide label rule
Use inconsistent with labeling violates federal law

In a bakery or commercial kitchen

  • Store chemicals in a dedicated area away from ingredients, packaging and food-contact equipment
  • Identify every container, including spray bottles and buckets, so no chemical is ever unmarked
  • Keep a safety data sheet for each hazardous chemical and train staff to read labels and SDSs
  • Use sanitizers at label strength on food-contact surfaces, check concentration with test strips, and let equipment drain before use
  • Follow pesticide labels exactly, because using a product in a way its label doesn't allow violates federal law

For home and cottage bakers

  • Keep cleaners and sprays apart from flour, sugar and other baking supplies, ideally in a separate cabinet
  • Never mix bleach with ammonia or other chemicals, since dangerous fumes can form
  • Read and follow the label for dilution and contact time on every cleaning or sanitizing product

Related entries

Sources

Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 17, 2026.

  1. 21 CFR 117.35 Sanitary operations, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
  2. 21 CFR 178.1010 Sanitizing solutions, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
  3. Introduction to Pesticide Labels, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  4. Hazard Communication - Overview, Occupational Safety and Health Administration
  5. Sanitizing equipment and food contact surfaces, University of Minnesota Extension