"FLASH" Pasteurization - Your Thoughts

[FirstGarden]

Hi all - Flash pasteurizing has been around a number of years, and when I first saw it, I was really disappointed. I knew it meant certain nutrient death, enzyme murder and so forth. When I searched on the net about it, I could find very little about it, about exactly how it differs from the normal process in terms of destroyed nutrients. "Flash," as I understand it, means "brief" as opposed to, say... thorough? But I figured that quick or slow death is still death. But when I finally tried the juice it tasted 99.9% better than any normally pasteurized juice. Really just like the real thing.

Sure, it's best to make your own, but it's nice in a pinch to stop in at your local Trader Joe's or natural food store and buy some. Lately I just buy the half gallon of orange juice, as it is the only one that is NOT pasteurized at all. Wow, my mouth is watering just thinking about it!!

[eatyourbroccoli]

i try my best to pick up fresh-squeezed with no pasteurization whenever i can, and i have a juicer and will make my own when i have the time and patience...but if push came to shove and for some reason i HAD to have some orange juice and couldnt find either of the above, so long as there werent any additives whatsoever, id pick the flash-pasteurized over the normally pasteurized. though the cynic in me thinks "flash-pasteurization" is just a term and concept developed to market and sell the IDEA of health with the recent heightening of health-consciousness, rather than true health.

i wouldnt consider it 100% raw, but if you feel good on it than its completely your decision. just sort of like some other things arent necessarily completely raw or are debatable, but are still incorporated into the diet at some times.

still is a lot better than the 10% juice 90% sugar fruity drinks! :)

[salsababy]

I don't consider it 100% raw either. But I admit I do get the Trader Joes orange juice too! It also depends on the time of year, oranges can be expensive and a lot of oranges are needed.

Pasterization (from what I have read) is to help kill harmful bacteria etc. and is supposeably more safe for children and the elderly. I personally feel that fresh juice is good for those ages as well but I wouldn't trust just anyone to give fresh juice to the kids. If you juice it yourself you know what produce is being used, how well it was cleaned, how dilluted the juice is etc.

[mongomango]

Anything flash pasteurized isn't any % raw at all. It's pasteurized for *sometimes* a slightly briefer time but *always* at higher temperatures than normal. Drinking it is a personal choice but I just thought a bit more clarity would be good for those who don't wish to consume cooked foods. :)

Should you ever see the terms cold pasteurization or electronic pasteurization, be aware that these usually mean the food has been irradiated.

[salsababy]

Anything flash pasteurized isn't any % raw at all. It's pasteurized for *sometimes* a slightly briefer time but *always* at higher temperatures than normal. Drinking it is a personal choice but I just thought a bit more clarity would be good for those who don't wish to consume cooked foods. :)

Should you ever see the terms cold pasteurization or electronic pasteurization, be aware that these usually mean the food has been irradiated.


Yes, thank you mongomango. I didn't mean to imply that it's a raw item. It's not. But sometimes people have to make a personal judgement call and for me anyways, the occasional carton of orange juice may be depleted of good nutritents but it will not lead me astray of raw foods because it tastes similar (just not as good) as fresh OJ. Always best to juice yourself!!!!!! :D Doesn't matter what it says on the carton, if it is in a carton, then it's depleted of live nutrients. But it is still better than getting a pop!

[mongomango]

For sure! When I was young, coke-a-cola was ALL I drank. From 14 up to 24 it was 99% of the time my exclusive beverage. The damage to my teeth and my bones from those years is incalculable. A carton of OJ would have been a much better choice!

[meinleben]

i think flash pasteuriztion is a fancy word for pasteurization....in other words...cooked....

[FirstGarden]

Yeah, the big food industry doesn't miss a trick. One time I called a company that supplies frozen vegetables inquiring if they were pre-cooked. Sure enough they were. I didn't realize that freezing hurts vitamin content, but apparently it does... plus the cooking -- that's a double hit. Couldn't they "flash cook" it? Ha ha.

[Pierre]

What I'd like to know is why some frozen fruit pulps are pasteurized. Bacteria can't grow while frozen, so why bother?

[FirstGarden]

Lawsuits, brother. It's a very litigative society today so no one's taking any chances. I guess there's a possibility of microbes getting in prior to freezing, or in the thaw stage. Who knows? There may be a fungus among us.

I remember the good old days of raw, unpasteurized milk. They stopped that over similar concerns. And, if I remember correctly, the smaller dairies producing this came under fire from "Big Food" and industry regulators.

In California, we have lots of Jamba Juice places, almost as much as Starbucks, it seems. They squeeze the oranges on the premises, and make fresh wheat grass juice. But, everything else has gotta be concentrates. Not bad tasting, in spite of that. But definitely not raw.