An antimicrobial composition useful for microbial reduction on food includes an oxidizer and an acid component. The oxidizer includes hydrogen peroxide and/or peroxyacetic acid. The acid component includes one or more inorganic acids or their salts. For example, the acid component may be selected from sodium acid sulfate, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, sulfamic acid, nitric acid, hydrofluoric acid, or combinations thereof. In certain embodiments, the antimicrobial composition additionally includes one or more surfactants. A method of reducing microbes on food includes applying to the food the above-described antimicrobial composition.
