Question

Which of the following statements holds good with pasteurization?

• A. Pasteurization removes all the bacteria from milk.
• B. Pasteurization is a synonym for sterilization.
• C. Milk needs to be refrigerated even after pasteurization.
• D. Pasteurized milk causes lactose intolerance.

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

Milk needs to be refrigerated even after pasteurization.

a) Pasteurization does not remove all bacteria from milk. It reduces the harmful active bacteria from the milk but it is unable to kill their spores which might erupt again under favourable conditions.

b) Pasteurization is not a synonym for sterilization because of two processes are very different from each other when it comes to application. Pasteurization is the process where the milk is heated at to a specific temperature for a set period of time to reduce the bacterial population to prevent the spoilage and increase the shelf life. Sterilization kills all forms of living microorganism in the sample along with the spores of microorganism which cannot be done by the pasteurization.

c) Milk needs to be refrigerated even after pasteurization because refrigeration helps to keep the microorganism inactive for longer duration which increases the shelf life of the milk.

d) Pasteurized milk does not cause lactose intolerance because it does not affect or degrade the lactase enzyme which is responsible for lactose digestion in the humans.

So, the correct answer is 'Milk needs to be refrigerated even after pasteurization'.