Pasteurization

Pasteurization is a way to make drinks like milk and juice safe to drink. It works by heating the liquid to a high temperature for a short time. The heat kills harmful bacteria and germs without changing the taste very much. This process was named after Louis Pasteur, a French scientist who figured it out in the 1860s.

How Pasteurization Works

Milk or juice is heated to about 161 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 15 seconds. This temperature is hot enough to kill most harmful bacteria. Then the liquid is quickly cooled back down. The whole process happens very fast in a factory. After pasteurization, the milk is put into cartons or bottles and sent to stores.

Why Pasteurization Matters

Before pasteurization was invented, drinking milk could make people very sick. Harmful bacteria in raw milk caused diseases like tuberculosis and typhoid fever. After Louis Pasteur discovered that heat could kill these germs, milk became much safer. Today, almost all milk sold in stores is pasteurized. This simple process has saved millions of lives.

Fun Facts

• Louis Pasteur first used pasteurization on wine, not milk.
• Ultra-pasteurized milk is heated to an even higher temperature and can last for months unopened.
• Pasteurization kills about 99.9 percent of harmful bacteria in milk.

Did You Know?

Louis Pasteur was a chemist, not a doctor, but his discoveries about germs changed medicine forever!