Food Protection with High Temperatures, and Characteristics of Thermophilic Microorganisms

The use of high temperatures to preserve food is based on their destructive effects on microorganisms. By high temperatures are meant any and all temperatures above ambient. With respect to food preservation, there are two temperature categories in common use: pasteurization and sterilization. Pasteurization by use of heat implies either the destruction of all disease-producing organisms (e.g., pasteurization of milk) or the destruction or reduction in the number of spoilage organisms in certain foods, as in the pasteurization of vinegar. The pasteurization of milk is achieved by heating at one of the following time/temperature combinations: