Pasteurization Process - Essay Example

Pasteurization Alyssa Martinez ID: 8316 Science Pearblossom Private School Pasteurization is one of the old methods of food preservation used in the olden century days. It involves a heating process, where the food is heated to destroy the pathogens, the process has been well identified for its role in making milk and juices for safe consumption. Therefore, to pasteurize food means to devastate harmful microorganism for example viruses, and bacteria by applying a small amount of heat for a specific period. Louis Pasteur invented this clear-cut technique in the year 1864, together with another French chemist. The process is a natural process because it involves only the use of heat, not any irradiation, and chemicals used in the process. To understand the process better we may think of, the old fashioned idea of home canning process where we use heat united with combined given temperatures’ to kill the harmful germs. Most foods may be pasteurized examples includes milk, and most form of cooked foods such as the cooked vegetables. Louis Pasteur discovered the process, when summoned by alcohol manufacturing company to determine the cause of beetroot alcohol to sour. During that time, many scientists thought that the fermentation was a merely chemical process. He did research into fermentation, which led him to find out that it was yeast, one of the living organisms that crooked the beet to alcohol. Yeast was plump and round under the microscope, after being spoiled by the alcohol, it contained another different microbe that looked like a rode-shaped. He speculated that the different rod shaped known as the Mycoderma acetic, frequently used to create vinegar, caused the wine to be spoiled (Fandel, Wilson, Ramos & Barnett, 2007). His pasteurization discovery formed the germ of Pasteur or the germ theory of fermentation. He could apply the same notion to the genesis of diseases making to have the greatest contribution in medicine and science. This made Emperor Napoleon III of France enlisted him to save France industries of wine from the diseases. His main role was to establish exact temperature, and time that would take to destroy the harmful microorganisms found in the wine without transforming the taste of the wine. He untested the process and named it pasteurization (Fandel, Wilson, Ramos & Barnett, 2007). With time, the process was incorporated in making vinegar and beer. He came up with a practical technique for the curb of beer fermentation; he provided a rational methodology for the brewing industry. Besides these he devised a technique used in the manufacturing of beer, which prevented the deterioration of beer product during the long transportation period, by ships, these followed after his success with wine. In today’s world the process of pasteurization rarely used for wine manufacturing industry, because of the benefit from aging, it destroys the organisms, which add to the aging process. The process still applied to several foodstuffs, and beverages, most so milk. As mentioned above, that the commonly pasteurized food is milk, it did not come into the practice until the late 1800s. Initially, tuberculosis frequently carried by milk. The batch pasteurization, first invented to destroy the pathogen in tuberculosis, the process also known as a low temperature, long time processes. This led to a dramatic fall in the incidence of tuberculosis contraction from milk; it no longer makes the center for the diseases manage and anticipation list of the food born the sickness (Fandel, Wilson, Ramos & Barnett, 2007). The initial commercial milk pasteurizers were in the year 1882. It was produced using a high- temperature, short-time process. This led to the passing of the law to require for the pasteurization of milk in Chicago in 1908, this majorly to control the diseases that may attack the public, due to the use of unpasteurized milk. Some people did not prefer the idea same like today. Many people are familiar with the pasteurization of milk, since it prevents the illness from many bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella, and viruses such as Hepatitis (Latour, 1988). Pasteurization of milk involves three main steps: first step is setting up a double-boil system then filling the large stainless steel container with three to four inches of water, then you place a slightly smaller stainless steel vessel into the water Of the first vessel, later the pan is set onto the stove. The milk will be poured into the second pan, and the thermometer clipped to the side of the second vessel to know the temperature. The other five remaining steps are preparation of the ice bath, heating the milk, removing the vessel from heating and placing them immediately, into the ice bath, sterilizing the glass jar, by placing them in water that is boiling for about thirty seconds to one hour. Lastly is transferring the milk from a container to the glass jars, closing them title and placing them in the refrigerator for extensive cooling (Wilson, 2001). Wilson (2001) states that, the two main purposes for the pasteurization of milk are; to increase the safety of the milk for the consumer by killing disease causing the pathogens, another reason is to increase the quality of milk by completely destroying the spoilage microorganism and the enzymes that frequently leads to the reduced quality of milk, and the shelf life of milk. The minimum pasteurization requires some condition. The condition is determined to be the minimum processing condition required to destroy Coxiella Burnett, the organism resulting to Q fever in the human being. That organism is the most heat resistant pathogens; it has currently recognized in milk. Foods may be pasteurized using process times more than the required minimums. Either pasteurization may be done as continues process or as a batch. The vat pasteurizer consists of the temperatures controlled. The vat will start heating the milk and keep the milk heated as the milk moves around the vat. Some of the pasteurization process will heat the milk partially in a tubular heater or plate before entering the vat, however, this alteration is commonly used for the ice cream companies since it helps in the mixing of quality later in the process (Latour, 1988). For a batch process to end, and then the milk in the vat pasteurizer must stay in the vast pasteurizer until all the particles inside are completely heated. The milk can either be abandoned in the vat to continue cooling in the vat or may be removed while still hot. After the cooling off of the milk, it is then released to the cheese vat or the bottling station, this will depend on the destination for the pasteurized milk (Latour, 1988). As it has been explained above, we can easily I identify the great contribution of the inventor and appreciate his role as one of the microbiologists, the impacts are positive. The pasteurization is being used to date. References Fandel, J., Wilson, K., Ramos, R., & Barnett, C. (2007). Louis Pasteur and pasteurization. Mankato, Minn.: Capstone Press. Latour, B. (1988). The pasteurization of France. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Wilson, G. S. (2001). The pasteurization of milk. London: E. Arnold. Read More