What is pasteurization?

Pasteurization is a critical food safety process that involves heating food to a specific temperature for a designated period of time in order to eliminate harmful bacteria and pathogens while maintaining the food's quality and nutritional value. This method is particularly important for liquids such as milk and juice but can also apply to other food products. The ability to kill harmful microorganisms without compromising the overall sensory attributes of the food, such as flavor and texture, makes pasteurization an essential practice in the food industry, especially for ensuring safety and extending shelf life without the use of preservatives.

The other choices do not pertain to pasteurization. Freezing, for example, is a preservation method that halts the growth of bacteria but does not kill them, while drying is focused on moisture removal to increase shelf stability, and marinating involves flavoring with acidic solutions rather than killing bacteria. Thus, the correct understanding of pasteurization is fundamental for food safety knowledge and practice.