Final answer:
Sanitization is the process of reducing microorganisms to safe levels for public health, while antiseptics are suitable for use on tissues to prevent infection. Sterilization is the complete elimination of all microbial life. Filtration is a microbial control method that removes, but does not kill, microbes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term that describes the process of reducing the number of microorganisms on a surface or object to an acceptable public health standard is sanitization. For instance, in the food service industry, dishes are commonly sanitized using commercial dishwashers with high temperatures that kill most microbes. Similarly, hospital room surfaces are sanitized using chemical disinfectants to prevent disease transmission between patients.
When it comes to microbial control on tissues to prevent infection, the appropriate choice is antiseptic, as it is safe enough to use on living tissues, unlike disinfectants which are generally used on non-living surfaces.
Sterilization is the most extreme protocol for microbial control, aiming at the complete elimination of all forms of microbial life, including vegetative cells, endospores, and viruses, from the targeted item or environment. Sterilization is crucial in laboratory, medical, and food industry settings to ensure items are free of infectious agents.
Microbial control methods like filtration do not kill or inhibit the growth of microbes; instead, they physically remove them from samples.