A process was developed for expressing antimicrobial peptides in a recombinant host cell that eliminates host cell toxicity and antimicrobial peptide degradation, as well as providing a process for rapid purification. Fusion proteins comprising a periplasmic targeting signal, cleavage site, and antimicrobial peptides provide the basis for this process which produces antimicrobial peptides that may be used in antimicrobial compositions and articles.