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SODIS and Aquasafe
A comparison between SODIS and Aquasafe.
Here is how pasteurization is described by US FDA, the competent US authority charged with ensuring the public health in the US.
Pasteurization
The process of destroying microorganisms that could cause disease. This is usually done by applying heat to a food.
Food Safety Implication: Pasteurization is the heat processing of a liquid or food to kill pathogenic bacteria to make a food safe to eat. Using pasteurization to kill pathogenic bacteria has helped reduce the transmission of diseases, such as typhoid fever, tuberculosis, scarlet fever, polio, and dysentery. (Also see Typhoid Fever.)
It’s important to note that foods can become contaminated even after they have been pasteurized. For example, all pasteurized foods must be refrigerated. If temperature is abused (e.g., if milk or eggs are not kept refrigerated), pasteurized foods can become contaminated. Therefore, it’s important to always handle food properly by following the 4 Cs.
How It Works: Foods are heat-processed to kill pathogenic bacteria. Foods can also be pasteurized using gamma irradiation. Such treatments do not make the foods radioactive. The pasteurization process is based on the following time and temperature relationship.
- High-Temperature-Short-Time Treatment (HTST) - Using higher heat for less time to kill pathogenic bacteria. For example, milk is pasteurized at 161° F (72° C) for 15 seconds.
- Low-Temperature-Long-Time Treatment (LTLT) - Using lower heat for a longer time to kill pathogenic bacteria. For example, milk is pasteurized at 145° F (63° C) for 30 minutes.
Here is how Pasteurization is described by US FDA, the competent US authority charged with ensuring the public health in the US.
Pasteurization
The process of destroying microorganisms that could cause disease. This is usually done by applying heat to a food.
Food Safety Implication: Pasteurization is the heat processing of a liquid or food to kill pathogenic bacteria to make a food safe to eat. Using pasteurization to kill pathogenic bacteria has helped reduce the transmission of diseases, such as typhoid fever, tuberculosis, scarlet fever, polio, and dysentery. (Also see Typhoid Fever.)
It’s important to note that foods can become contaminated even after they have been pasteurized. For example, all pasteurized foods must be refrigerated. If temperature is abused (e.g., if milk or eggs are not kept refrigerated), pasteurized foods can become contaminated. Therefore, it’s important to always handle food properly by following the 4 Cs.
How It Works: Foods are heat-processed to kill pathogenic bacteria. Foods can also be pasteurized using gamma irradiation. Such treatments do not make the foods radioactive. The pasteurization process is based on the following time and temperature relationship.
- High-Temperature-Short-Time Treatment (HTST) - Using higher heat for less time to kill pathogenic bacteria. For example, milk is pasteurized at 161° F (72° C) for 15 seconds.
- Low-Temperature-Long-Time Treatment (LTLT) - Using lower heat for a longer time to kill pathogenic bacteria. For example, milk is pasteurized at 145° F (63° C) for 30 minutes.
Note: The times and temperatures depend on the type of food and the final result you want to achieve, such as retaining a food’s nutrients, color, texture, and flavor and using a high enough temperature for a long enough time to kill pathogenic bacteria.
Processes Used to Pasteurize Foods Include:
- Flash Pasteurization - Involves a high temperature, short-time treatment in which pourable products, such as juices, are heated for 3 to 15 seconds to a temperature that destroys harmful micro-organisms. After heating, the product is cooled and packaged. Most drink boxes and pouches use this pasteurization method as it allows extended unrefrigerated storage while providing a safe product.
- Steam Pasteurization - This technology uses heat to control or reduce harmful microorganisms in beef. This system passes freshly-slaughtered beef carcasses that are already inspected, washed, and trimmed, through a chamber that exposes the beef to pressurized steam for approximately 6 to 8 seconds. The steam raises the surface temperature of the carcasses to 190° to 200° F (88° to 93° C). The carcasses are then cooled with a cold-water spray. This process has proven to be successful in reducing pathogenic bacteria, such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Listeria, without the use of any chemicals. St pasteurization is used on nearly 50% of U.S. beef.
- Irradiation Pasteurization - Foods, such as poultry, red meat, spices, and fruits and vegetables, are subjected to small amounts of gamma rays. This process effectively controls vegetative bacteria and parasitic foodborne pathogens and increases the storage time of foods.