Pasteurization

Pasteurization is the process of heating food for the purpose of killing harmful organisms such as bacteria, viruses, 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.

Related Topics:
Food - Harmful organisms - Bacteria - Viruses - Protozoa - Mold - Yeast - French - Louis Pasteur - Claude Bernard - April 20 - 1862

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Unlike sterilization, pasteurization is not intended to kill all microorganisms in the food. Compare with appertization invented by Nicolas Francois Appert. Instead, pasteurization aims to achieve a "log 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). Commercial scale sterilization of food is not common, because it adversely affects the taste and quality of the product.

Related Topics:
Sterilization - Microorganism - Nicolas Francois Appert - Log

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