Pasteurization
<p ><b>Pasteurization</b> (or <b>pasteurisation</b>, see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences" title="American and British English spelling differences" >spelling differences</a>) is a process of heating a food, which is usually a liquid, to a specific temperature for a predefined length of time and then immediately cooling it after it is removed from the heat. This process slows spoilage due to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbe" title="Microbe" class="mw-redirect" >microbial</a> growth in the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food" title="Food" >food</a>.
Unlike <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterilization_(microbiology)" title="Sterilization (microbiology)" >sterilization</a>, pasteurization is not intended to kill all <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro-organism" title="Micro-organism" class="mw-redirect" >micro-organisms</a> in the food. Instead, it aims to reduce the number of viable <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathogen" title="Pathogen" >pathogens</a> so they are unlikely to cause disease (assuming the pasteurized product is stored as indicated and is consumed before its expiration date). Commercial-scale sterilization of food is not common because it adversely affects the taste and quality of the product. Certain foods, such as dairy products, may be superheated to ensure pathogenic microbes are destroyed.<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurization#cite_note-0" >[1]</a></sup>
<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference" > </sup></p>
<h2 >Products that are commonly pasteurized</h2>
<ul >
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canned_food" title="Canned food" class="mw-redirect" >Canned food</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dairy_Products" title="Dairy Products" class="mw-redirect" >Dairy products</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juice" title="Juice" >Juices</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Alcoholic_Beverages" title="Low Alcoholic Beverages" class="mw-redirect" >Low alcoholic beverages</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrups" title="Syrups" class="mw-redirect" >Syrups</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar" title="Vinegar" >Vinegar</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water" title="Water" >Water</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wines" title="Wines" class="mw-redirect" >Wines</a></li>
<li ></li>
<li ></li>
<li ><b>See also</b></li>
<li ></li>
</ul>
<ul >
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_pasteurization" title="Cold pasteurization" class="mw-redirect" >Cold pasteurization</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_pasteurization" title="Flash pasteurization" >Flash pasteurization</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascalization" title="Pascalization" >Pascalization</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homogenization_(chemistry)" title="Homogenization (chemistry)" >Homogenization</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurized_eggs" title="Pasteurized eggs" >Pasteurized eggs</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_water_disinfection" title="Solar water disinfection" >Solar water disinfection</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoduric_bacteria" title="Thermoduric bacteria" >Thermoduric bacteria</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_preservation" title="Food preservation" >Food preservation</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_storage" title="Food storage" >Food storage</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_microbiology" title="Food microbiology" >Food microbiology</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterilization_(microbiology)" title="Sterilization (microbiology)" >Sterilization</a></li>
<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermization" title="Thermization" >Thermization</a></li>
</ul>
<p > </p>