Antimicrobial and Antiviral Effect of High-Temperature Short-Time (HTST) Pasteurization Applied to Human Milk

In the United States, concerns over the transmission of infectious diseases have led to donor human milk generally being subjected to pasteurization prior to distribution and use. The standard method used by North American milk banks is Holder pasteurization (63°C for 30 minutes). The authors undertook an experiment to validate the effects of a high-temperature short-time (HTST) pasteurization process (72°C for 16 seconds) on the bioburden of human milk. It was concluded that HTST is effective in the elimination of bacteria as well as of certain important pathogenic viruses.