Talk:Pasteurization

Flash Pasteurization
The article on Flash pasteurization describes the method as using temperatures between 71.5-74ºC and durations between 15 and 30 seconds. But the widley-used HTST method described in this article uses a temperature in that range (72ºC) and a time of 15 seconds. This article also claims the following:
 * A newer method called flash pasteurization involves shorter exposure to higher temperatures, and is claimed to be better for preserving color and taste in some products.

I assume the comparison ("shorter") is to HTST, in which case there seems to be inconsistency between the articles.

POV
I second the problems with the raw milk section. It is far POV, makes unsubstantiated claims, and uses poor language for an encyclopedia. I'm looking at the end of the first Raw Milk section in particular. Some sources that would be useful in fixing the entire article are cdc.gov and fda.gov. I'm not sure who should be quoted as pro-Raw milk; maybe there is a lobby. Any claim made by either group ideally should be met by a counter-claim if it's disputed.

Article lacks basic info. Too much info about milk.
Pasteurization is a process that finds applications in not only food preparation, but also mushroom cultivation, Horticulture, and biology (and possibly elsewhere.) Pasteurization is often applied because some beneficial micro-organisms can survive this process, as opposed to sterilization which basically kills everything. Of course it is also used to sanitize substances that cannot be heated beyond certain temperatures, cannot be autoclaved, or cannot be treated with chemicals.I believe, though I am not sure, that pasteurization can be used on dry solids. Never the less, pasteurization IS used on wet solids, for example wet soil, wet grains, wet vermiculite etc. -Matt Munson Oct 13 2007

Raw Vs Pasteurized: Not that big of a difference?
I think this whole debate about raw vs pasteurized is being debated by people from two extremes, whereas a well informed person would probably be somewhere in the middle. On the one hand science acknowledges the existence of beneficial bacteria. Everyone has them growing in their stomach, even before they are born. In fact, humans are a construct of many different organisms including fungi and bacteria. Science also acknowledges the fact that by eating certain foods that contain these beneficial bacteria, we can improve our over all health. However, I do not know how much of these bacteria we miss out on, if any, due to the pasteurization of milk. Other foods, such as yogurt are already known to contain high concentrations of these beneficial bacteria.On the other hand, the only two purposes I know of for the pasteurization of milk are to preserve it as long as possible and to make sure that no harmful organisms are present. Clearly preserving milk is a benefit to society, as it decreases waste, thereby increasing the efficiency of our production. Eliminating pathogenic bacteria would at first seem like only a good thing. However, there is scientific evidence, that being exposed to more pathogens in your life, especialy during developmental stages, will increase the strength of your immune system. In other words, someone who is almost never exposed to pathogens will have almost no defense against them. Clearly, individuals with depressed immune systems (babies, AIDS patients etc.) should only drink pasteurized milk. For the rest of us, there is no reason why we cant make an informed decision about what we put in our bodies. Although if raw milk where to be made available from major distributors, it would surely cost much more than pasteurized milk, due to the shorter expiry time, little consumer demand (less people buy so it would have to cost more to get a profit) and high tech facilities that would probably be needed to keep the milk from being exposed to too many pathogens... Just some food for though, for anybody that can actually write well enough and has the time enough to research this well enough, to actualy edit the entry. - Matt Munson oct 13 2007

Figure: General overview of the pasteurization process
The text in that figure is incomprehensible 162.246.139.210 (talk) 19:45, 8 December 2023 (UTC)