Nov. 9, 1999 COLUMBIA, Mo. -- In 1865, French chemist Louis
Pasteur introduced the world to the process now known as
pasteurization. By heating milk at 145 degrees for 30 minutes,
rapidly cooling it and then storing it below 50 degrees, Pasteur
discovered that harmful bacteria were destroyed without
significantly changing the milk's composition, flavor or
nutritional value. In 2000, U.S. consumers will be introduced to
a new kind of pasteurization being developed by an
interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of
Missouri-Columbia, Iowa State University and Natick Army
Laboratory. Like its 19th century forerunner, it destroys
bacteria without significantly changing product composition,
flavor or nutritional value. However, this 21st century process,
termed cold pasteurization, is much different. Using electron
beam technology, it is fast, does not require heat and is
designed to destroy one of the most feared bacterium in recent
history - E. coli O157:H7. "Today, you wouldn't even think of
drink