Pasteurization Of Milk - Purpose

Pasteurization Of Milk - Purpose

There are two distinct purposes for the process of milk pasteurization:

Public Health Aspect - To make milk and milk products safe for human consumption by destroying all bacteria that may be harmful to health (pathogens)

Keeping Quality Aspect - To improve the keeping quality of milk and milk products. Pasteurization can destroy some undesirable enzymes and many spoilage bacteria. Shelf life can be 7, 10, 14 or up to 16 days.

The extent of microorganism inactivation depends on the combination of temperature and holding time. Minimum temperature and time requirements for milk pasteurization are based on thermal death time studies for the most heat resistant pathogen found in milk, Coxelliae burnettii.