Pasteurizacion (Inglés)

PROCESSING

Food safety plays a major role throughout food processing.
Pasteurization

Dr. Charles Sizer discusses
pasteurization

Pasteurization is the process of using heat or irradiation to destroy microorganisms that could cause disease.
Modern dairy farms today may have up to 5,000 cows. All the milk is pooled, so if one cow is sick, there is a possibility to contaminate all themilk. That's why milk is pasteurized.
Milk was one of the first products to be pasteurized on a broad scale. In addition to dairy products, other pasteurized foods include fruit juices, chicken, beef, and spices.
One challenge scientists had was trying to figure out how to pasteurize an egg without cooking it. The solution was to heat the eggs up slowly to 57° C and maintain that temperature for 1hour and 15 minutes. This time/temperature relationship inactivates the bacteria while keeping the eggs fluid.
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), a chemist, was actually trying to prevent spoilage in wine and beer when he discovered pasteurization. Pasteurization was applied first in wine preservation. When milk producers adopted the process, it substantially reduced foodborne illness. You never knowwhere science will lead you!
Time/Temperature Relationship

Traditional pasteurization is achieved by exposing foods to heat for a certain length of time. Bacteria are very heat-sensitive, and the higher the temperature, the quicker they can be inactivated. Using higher heat takes less time to kill pathogenic bacteria, whereas using lower heat takes more time.
FASCINATING FACTS
More than 1,000different types of food are pasteurized.

Irradiation

Using gamma rays to
destroy bacteria
Irradiation is the process in which ionizing energy is used to kill foodborne pathogens. During irradiation, an intense pulse of energy is emitted, either from a gamma radiation source like Cobalt 60 or from an electrical source like an electron beam accelerator. The energy penetrates the food anddestroys any bacteria.
Irradiation damages the microbe's DNA. Unless it can repair the damage, the microbe will die when it grows and tries to duplicate itself.
Ultra High Pressure (UHP) Treatment

Today, some food producers are beginning to use a new method for killing harmful bacteria in foods that contain water. It's called ultra high pressure (UHP) treatment.

Dr. Sizer demonstrates
ultrahigh pressure
treatment
This process destroys bacteria without the use of high temperatures or chemical additives. Thus, foods such as juices, salsas, cold-cuts, and other moist foods, are made safer while the vitamins, flavor, and freshness of the foods are maintained.
Using specially designed equipment, the food is subjected to 50,000 to 100,000 pounds of pressure per square inch. This ultrahigh pressure is maintained from 30 seconds to a few minutes depending on the food. The ultra high pressure interferes with the metabolism and structure of bacteria and destroys these living cells without altering the basic composition of the food.
Important Note: Despite pasteurization, irradiation, and ultra high pressure (UHP) treatment, food can still become contaminated if the basic rules offood safety are not followed all along the Farm-to-Table Continuum. It's important to always follow the 4 Cs of Food Safety: Clean, Cook, Chill, and Combat Cross-Contamination.
TRANSPORTATION

Proper packing is selected
for the product
The 4 Cs of Food Safety play a very prominent role in transportation. Keeping food safe and in good condition as it's shipped across the country or around theworld is critical. There are many steps to shipping food safely and there's science behind each step.
The cold chain has to be maintained throughout the loading process, in transit, and during receiving.
The food is cleaned and precooled as it comes from the field or plant. The cooling extends product life by reducing field heat, rate of ripening, loss of moisture, rate of respiration, and the...