Pasteurization

Louis Pasteur, is the “Father of Microbiology” developed a process called pasteurization. Initially he used this process for grape wine and beer. Later, it was applied to milk as well.

Pasteurization, named after Louis Pasteur as he was the pioneer of the process Pasteurization, involved mild heat treatment applied to grape must and juice. This process inhibits or eliminates bacteria and yeast, preventing microbial spoilage and oxidation risks.

While Pasteur pasteurized wine, pasteurization of milk was experimented by German chemist “Franz von Soxhlet”. 

As people transitioned from rural to urban living, milk emerged as a significant source of foodborne illnesses due to the complexities of longer and more intricate supply chains. The historical shift led to raw milk reaching consumers after extended periods, sometime days or weeks old, contributing to a surge in childhood deaths from contaminated milk by the 20th century. This alarming public health concern prompted the global adoption of milk pasteurization as a crucial measure to mitigate hazards associated with its consumption.

Pasteurization, a widely employed method for food processing, involves the application of high heat to eliminate specific microorganisms from food substances. Controlled temperatures below 100℃ are utilized on chosen food samples to effectively destroy harmful microorganism.

In terms of benefits, pasteurization does not produce a substantial undesirable cooked flavour post treatment. In other words, the natural taste of food substance remains largely unaltered as no chemical additives are needed during the heating process. The removal of harmful microorganism from food substances result in a considerable extension of the shelf life of the processed products. 

Other benefits of pasteurization is witness in the deactivation of enzymes that are found in various food substance. For example, milk is well endowed with enzymes like lipase and phosphatase. These enzymes usually lower the overall quality of milk. Pasteurized milk has a higher market value than the non-pasteurized milk.      

Disease prevented by pasteurization can include tuberculosis. Brucellosis, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and Q- fever. It also kills the harmful bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria, Yersinia, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli.