Acidic viscous solutions are described that can be introduced for the processing of perishable food to facilitate providing antimicrobial treatments. The solutions can have a viscosity from about 50 centipoise to about 10,000 centipoise. The solution generally does not add any significant nutritional or flavor contributions to the food product. The acidic viscous solutions can be particularly useful for improving the effectiveness of subsequent hypochlorous acid/hypochlorite or peroxide antimicrobial treatments.
