To improve food safety during food processing, we developed a titanium dioxide, photocatalytic coating that can be applied to standard stainless-steel food contact surfaces (FCS) via a sol-gel method. These thin, self-assembled, porous coatings have the potential to reduce surface cross-contamination in food processing environments when used in combination with oxygen, water, and ultraviolet (UV) light through photocatalytic processes. Under these conditions, the coating releases reactive oxidative species (ROS), the amount of which is directly related to the coating's photocatalytic activity; ROS are responsible for killing microorganisms. In this study, a quadratic mathematical model is used to optimize the relationships among synthetic parameters, including sol-gel aging time and sintering temperature, and the resulting photocatalytic activity of the coatings. Using statistical analysis, the coatings synthesized using 223 h aging time and 507 °C sintering temperatures were predicted to yield maximized photocatalytic activity within the experimental range. We verified this prediction experimentally, and compared the relationships between photocatalytic activity and the areal porosity of the photocatalytically-optimized coatings to determine how the porosity of the coatings impacted their photocatalytic activity. Lastly, in an effort to assess real-life applications, the mechanical stability of the photocatalytically-optimized coatings was evaluated using nanoindentation and pencil hardness testing. By tailoring the coatings' physicochemical properties to optimize for photocatalytic performance and mechanical stability, we can create photocatalytic coatings for food contact surfaces that have the potential to prevent or minimize cross-contamination during food processing.