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Pasteurization is a process which slows microbial growth in foods. The process was named after its creator, French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur. The first pasteurization test was completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard on April 20, 1862. Unlike sterilization, pasteurization is not intended to kill all pathogenic micro-organisms in the food or liquid. Instead, pasteurization aims to reduce the number of viable pathogens so they are unlikely to cause disease (assuming the pasteurisation product is refrigerated and consumed before its expiration date). Commercial-scale sterilization of food is not common because it adversely affects the taste and quality of the product. Pasteurization typically uses temperatures below boiling since at temperatures above the boiling point for milk, casein micelles will irreversibly aggregate (or "curdle"). There are two main types of pasteurization used today High Temperature/Short Time (HTST) and Extended Shelf Life (ESL) treatment. Ultra-high temperature (UHT or ultra-heat treated) is also used for milk treatment. In the HTST process, milk is forced between metal plates or through pipes heated on the outside by hot water, and is heated to 71.7 °C (161 °F) for 15-20 seconds. UHT processing holds the milk at a temperature of 138 °C (250 °F) for a fraction of a second. ESL milk has a microbial filtration step and lower temperatures than HTST.[1] Milk simply labeled "pasteurisation " is usually treated with the HTST method, whereas milk labeled "ultra-pasteurization " or simply "UHT" has been treated with the UHT method. Pasteurization methods are usually standardized and controlled by national food safety agencies (such as the USDA in the United States and the Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom). These agencies require milk to be HTST pasteurized in order to qualify for the "pasteurisation " label. There are different standards for different dairy products, depending on the fat content and the intended usage. For example, the pasteurisation standards for cream differ from the standards for fluid milk, and the standards for pasteurizing cheese are designed to preserve the phosphatase enzyme, which aids in cutting.
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Pasteurization Articles
Raw Milk - Should it be Banned or Should We Drink Up?
by Chas Ainsley
Jul 14, 2008
There is a slowly increasing campaign across the United States, a campaign to find and drink raw milk straight from the cow just as our ancestors did for hundreds of years. People are willing to risk illness and death (so says the FDA) to find this e...
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