FOOD PRESERVATION PROCESSES 209
found that there exists several inches of vacuum in the can. This is
desirable as it increases the difficulties in the way of the growth of
any aerobes which may nave withstood the processing. In some
plants, vacuum apparatus is used for creating as great a vacuum
as possible in the processed oan.
Pasteurization is a process applied to certain foods to check
the growth of germ life. It consists in heating the liquid to a tem-
perature below the boiling point followed by rapid cooling. It has
been best applied to milk, cream, wine, beer, vinegar, and fruit
juiceB.
In 1865, Pasteur undertook a great work for the benefit of the
agriculture of France. France was a land of vineyards and the returns
from the growing of grapes meant prosperity or poverty to a large
proportion of the farmers. The price paid for grapes depended en-
tirely upon what the manufacturers of wine were able to obtain for
their product. It was at this time that the spoiling of wine spoken of
as "the diseases of wine" became so extensive that the wine industry
faced a orisis and French wines were about to lose their world-wide
reputation for flavor and bouquet. Five hundred million francs in-
vested in the wine industry were affected by these malfermentations
which took place in the products of the manufacturer. Pasteur felt
the gravity of the situation and concluded that he could serve his
countrymen in no better way than in solving this problem. He went
to Arbois, France, in the heart of a vast grape-growing district, built
a small laboratory and began to investigate the germ content of wines
which spoiled. He soon discovered that this spoiling was due to the
presence of undesirable bacteria. After much experimentation as to
the best methods of killing these organisms, foreign to wine manufac-
ture,
without harming the delicate flavor of the wine, he found that
heating the grape juice to 130 degrees or 140 degrees F. for a short
period of time killed these bacteria and at the same time in no way
injured the final product.
So great were the benefits of this investigation of Pasteur's that
this process of improving the keeping quality of liquids by heat-
ing has been called "pasteurization" after the name of this great
genius.
Although the benefits received by the farmers of France from
the introduction of the process of pasteurization in the wine industry
were great, far greater service to mankind has come from the applica-
tion of this principle to the improvement of market milk.
Commercial pasteurization as it is carried out in the modern
market milk plant (heating of the milk to 145 degrees F. and holding
for 30 minutes) guarantees that the milk as it comes from the pas-
teurizer is free from disease, and people in general have come to accept
the word "pasteurized" on a bottle of milk as a genuine protection
from infectious organisms. Proper pasteurization is considered by
many to be the great fundamental step in making market milk a safe
food.