Pasteurization (American English) or pasteurisation (French, and English) is a process invented by French scientist Louis Pasteur during the nineteenth century. In 1864 Pasteur discovered that heating beer and wine just enough to kill most of the bacteria that caused spoilage prevented these beverages from turning sour. This was achieved by eliminating pathogenic microbes and lowering microbial numbers to prolong the quality of the beverage. Today the process of pasteurization is used widely in the dairy and food industries for microbial control and preservation of the food we consume .[1]
Unlike sterilisation, pasteurization is not intended to kill all micro-organisms in the food. Instead, it aims to reduce the number of viable pathogens so they are unlikely to cause disease (assuming the pasteurized product is stored as indicated and is consumed before its expiration date). Commercial-scale sterilisation of food is not common because it adversely affects the taste and quality of the product. Certain foods, such as dairy products, may be superheated to ensure pathogenic microbes are destroyed.[2]
Pasteurized Eggs
The science for pasteurizing fresh eggs in their shells was developed in the late 1980s, but scaled up commercially only in the last decade. The egg pasteurization process is entirely natural and eliminates the risk of Salmonella bacteria as well as viruses (e.g., Avian influenza or "bird flu"). The egg pasteurization process does not cook the egg, protecting the wholesome quality and farm-fresh flavor you enjoy.
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Pasteurizing is a process where a certain temperature vs certain pathogens vs a length of time are tested until it is determined the product is safe to eat.... Food can be pasteurized at Low temps for a long time or High temps for a short time.. as the table shows...
Sterilization is high temps for a specific length of time.... usually in a retort or a pressure cooker for canned food.... the pressure cooker is used to kill botulism which needs somewhere around 230 degrees for X length of time....
Soooooo, I have read where they pasteurize milk at 3 different temperatures... low at a long time... expensive but the milk tastes good... VHT very high temp for something like 1 second... not as expensive but I have tasted VHT milk and it has a weird flavor....
Some stuff in meats needs freezing below zero for 30 days to kill the parasites... wild game is a good example of those parasites... but regular, everyday food borne bacteria can be made safe to eat using pasteurizing....
Sooooo, now you know, or soon will, when you do some additional reading on beef, pork, eggs pasteurization..... AND your beef sticks and sausages won't be like sawdust in an inner tube...
I believe in the pasteurization process BUT I hold the meat for an hour or 2 longer than the table says, just to be sure my thermometer isn't reading wrong, or stuff in the smoker is in a cooler zone.... I do my best to cover all the bases.....
Some food, like chicken, I still can't eat if cooked at a low temp for the proper time.... Just something about chicken..... It is, I'm sure, perfectly safe to eat but..... it don't look right and the texture is off....
Dave
