Pasteurization – a thermal process used to eliminate specific pathogenic microorganisms from food. Is a process of heating a food, usually liquid, to a specific temperature (below boiling point) for a definite length of time, and then cooling it immediately. This process slows microbial growth in food. Unlike sterilization, pasteurization is not intended to kill all micro-organisms in the food. Instead pasteurization aims to reduce the number of viable pathogens so they are unlikely to cause disease (assuming the pasteurized product is stored as indicated and consumed before its expiration date). The process of pasteurization was named after Louis Pasteur who discovered that spoilage organisms could be inactivated in wine by applying heat at temperatures below its boiling point. The process was later applied to milk and remains the most important operation in the processing of milk.
Louis Pasteur
Wine Pasteurization