Julia+Wainwright+2nd+Industrial+Revolution

Pasteurization Julia Wainwright





Louis Pasteur was born in France on December 27th, 1822. 1  After studying fermentation, Pasteur was hired by Napoleon III to discover what was causing France's wine to spoil and to find a way to stop it. 2 It had already discovered that boiling a liquid would kill the micro-organisms living in it and beginning in 1864, Pasteur innovated that process by finding the perfect temperature and amount of time needed to kill the harmful micro-organisms without changing the taste. 3  This process, which is now called pasteurization, saved France's wine industry and was later used to kill the micro-organisms living in drinks. Before pasteurization was developed, milk commonly carried Tuberculosis and other disease causing pathogens; the diseases spread by milk caused deaths in all social classes. In the late 19th century, batch pasteurization was created to the kill the harmful pathogens in milk and as a result the number of deaths caused by diseases such as Tuberculosis decreased drastically. 4  Along with developing pasteurization, Pasteur also helped to spread bacteria awareness and popularize ways to prevent the spread of pathogen caused illnesses. 5  With fewer people getting infected by serious diseases, the people of European nations were healthier and the populations were able to grow more quickly. Stronger, healthier men and larger populations contributed to nationalism and the building of nations states across Europe. Louis Pasteur's discoveries about germs saved the lives of many people and his process of pasteurization is still used today.

1- "Louis Pasteur," A&E Television Networks, http://www.biography.com/people/louis-pasteur-9434402. 2- Carol White, "How Pasteurization Works," How Stuff Works, http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/cellular-microscopic/pasteurization1.htm. 3- Carol White, "How Pasteurization Works," How Stuff Works, http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/cellular-microscopic/pasteurization1.htm. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">4- Carol White, "How Pasteurization Works," How Stuff Works, http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/cellular-microscopic/pasteurization1.htm. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">5- Mary, Bellis, "Louis Pasteur," About.com. http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventors/a/Louis_Pasteur.htm.