Cold Pasteurized - is it raw?

[Mookie]

I read about it, but can't tell if food is still considered raw.
I saw some carrot juice- refrigerated in a bottle - 100% carrot juice but
cold pasteurized. Sometimes, I am out and can not get a refreshing drink like
carrot juice and would like this convenience.... anyone know if it is still raw?

[Revvell]

It isn't. The word "pastuerized" tells the story. Usually, if it bottled or canned and doesn't say "raw" right on the front, it's not. Next, check the ingredients label. (nuts are REALLY good for this).

In order for something to be put in a bottle or can it has to be heated. Sometimes they (whoever "they are" in this case) think that just because they (see above) didn't heat the contents directly that the canning process doesn't cook the food. It does. It has to kill bacteria to prevent all the wonder-filled things that may come w/ canning.

Revvell

[Shivananda]

I read about it, but can't tell if food is still considered raw.
I saw some carrot juice- refrigerated in a bottle - 100% carrot juice but
cold pasteurized. It has not been heated, so it still raw, as we use the word... ie., uncooked, not heated over 118 degrees. But it has been treated with x-rays, or gamma rays, or an electron beam to kill microogranisma that cause disease and spoilage, making it safer and giving it longer shelf life. Although this process has been in commercial use in Europe for more than 60 years it is just beginning to come in to use in the US. The advantage offerred is that by pasteurizing the juice without heat the taste, color, and texture remain unchanged. The Odwalla raw juice deaths a few years ago pretty much ended the possibility of selling unpasteurized raw juice on anything more than a local-made, same-day basis.

I suspect that the raw community at large will not embrace this kind of product, though, as it is no longer completely natural. I personally see no harm in occasionally using an item like this when there are no good alternatives. But fresh made juice, consumed within minutes, is always going to be a superior choice.

[Mookie]

Thanks Shiv. I knew it was not heated. But I did not know if the (electrifying stuff) they do to it makes it non-raw.

I make my own juice when I can - but when in a pinch I thought this might do. Still, I could find no real info that told me if it was still raw (I checked the web) ... my only hint was that they keep it in the refrigerated section. I wonder if they cold pasteurize any of the OJ..... I wonder if this will be determined to be some cancer causing process in th efuture-- but, then again, you did say they have used it in Europe for years....

Thanks again.

[GlimR]

Cold pasturized...is flash pasturized the same thing?? I think so but am not sure.

I know we each have to make many descisions every day on our raw path and we each decide for ourselves what is acceptable....the wonderful thing about free choice. I personally can't see irradiation ever being ok. Sometimes we have to make choices that are not best....lesser of two evils and all that.

My feeling is that the more you learn the more responsibility you have to assume. If you support companies that use irradiation, pesticides, farming techniques that deplete the earth you are also responsible for those things taking place. Maybe various lifestyle changes are just matters of degree. I personally feel, and I am expressing this as my own opinion, the more I learn the stricter choices I need to make...you can't attain knowldge about certain things and then just ignore them....just my humble opinion. Wishing you every blessing~

[Shivananda]

Cold pasturized...is flash pasturized the same thing?? I think so but am not sure. No, it's not.

The general term "pasteurization" is used now used as an umbrella term for a number of different processes:

(Edited from Wiki): "Pasteurization is the process of killing harmful organisms such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, molds, and yeasts in food. The original process was named after its inventor, French scientist Louis Pasteur. The first pasteurization test was completed by Pasteur and Claude Bernard on April 20, 1862.

Unlike sterilization, pasteurization is not intended to kill all micro-organisms in the food. Instead, pasteurization aims to achieve a substantial reduction in the number of viable organisms, reducing their number so they are unlikely to cause disease (assuming the pasteurized product is refrigerated and consumed before its expiration date). Commercial scale sterilization of food is not common, because it adversely affects the taste and quality of the product."

The most original and common pasteurization method we know, and where this all started, is to heat milk to a certain temperature (below boiling, often 160 F) and hold it there long enough to kill most of the beasties. Boiling the milk would kill all the microorganisms (sterilize it), but it also changes the taste of the milk and reduces nutrients so it is generally not acceptable to consumers.

Regular pasteurizing of juice also makes it safer and makes it last longer, but the taste of juice is more fragile and it is more noticeably affected than milk, so flash pasturizing was developed. This uses higher temperatures, but for very short times... in a flash. Not raw, but much closer to "fresh" for the general public. This is what Odwalla now does.

Other pasteurization methods have been developed, some even using chemicals to kill the germs. Cold pastuerizing, also called electronic pasteurizing, seeks to achieve the same food safety without raising the temperature, so the taste, color, and nutrition are substantially unchanged. No, it's no longer natural, but in the world at large it's generally considered an improvement over heat pasteurization.

[rawpriestess]

I just know I'm not gonna' drink it,

flash, cold or other pasturization means it kills stuff, I'm not for that.

I'll just grab an apple or banana when I'm out and about.

[GlimR]

Thank you Shivananda for that info....very informative......I did not know the difference......this might be an eye opener for many~

Irradiation Info (http://www.mindfully.org/Food/Food-Last-Forever-TOC.htm)

You and me both RawPriestess.......