Final answer:
Pasteurization aims to reduce microbial load and destroy pathogens while retaining the liquid's quality; it is not designed for sterilization or endospore destruction. It's commonly used with milk to ensure safety and extend shelf life without altering taste or nutrition.
Step-by-step explanation:
The goals of pasteurization include the reduction of microbial load, the destruction of pathogens, and retention of liquid qualities. Pasteurization is a process of heating foods to a temperature that kills harmful microorganisms without significantly changing the taste or nutritional content of the food. Unlike boiling or autoclaving, pasteurization does not aim to achieve the destruction of endospores or complete sterilization since these processes might negatively affect the food's organoleptic qualities.
Pasteurization is most commonly associated with milk, where pathogens such as Campylobacter jejuni, Coxiella Burnetii, and Escherichia coli O157:H7 are killed, preventing milkborne diseases without affecting the milk's flavor or nutrition. This controlled heat treatment thus ensures food safety and extends the shelf life of perishable liquids while preserving their natural character.
Certain pasteurization techniques like high-temperature, short-time (HTST) and ultra-high temperature (UHT) are specifically tailored to treat milk, where HTST is typically used for refrigerated milk, and UHT is applied to milk that requires long-term storage without refrigeration. Each method has been calibrated to optimize pathogen destruction while maintaining food quality.