What is pasteurization?
Pasteurisation’is the process of heating liquids for the purpose of destroying viruses and harmful organisms such as bacteria, protozoa, molds, and yeasts. The process was named after its inventor, French scientist Louis Pasteur. The first pasteurization test was completed by Pasteur and Claude Bernard on April 20, 1862. Unlike sterilization, pasteurization is not intended to kill all micro-organisms (pathogenic) in the food. Instead, pasteurization aims to achieve a “logarithmic reduction” in the number of viable organisms, reducing their number so they are unlikely to cause disease (assuming the pasteurized product is refrigerated and consumed before its expiration date).
Pasteurization is a process used in preserving heat sensitive foods such as milk, beer, and other beverages. Pasteurization uses mild temperatures (63-66°C for 30 minutes or 71°C for 15 seconds) to kill pathogens and reduce levels of non-pathogenic organisms that cause milk and other foods to spoil. Pasteurization is not a method of sterilzation, which is why pasteurized foods will eventually spoil if given enough time. A new method called ultrahigh temperature (UHT) sterilization involves heating at 140-150°C for 1 to 3 seconds. Milk that has been treated in this way can be kept at room temperature for 2 months with only minimal changes in flavor.
