Pasteurization is a careful way of heating a liquid — almost always milk, sometimes juice, beer, or wine — so that harmful bacteria die, but the drink is not boiled and does not taste cooked. A French scientist, Louis Pasteur, worked out the idea. The heat is held for a short time, then the liquid is cooled. After that, milk lasts longer in the fridge and is much safer to drink. This is the usual treatment for ordinary shop milk. Though actually, it is not the same as sterilization, which uses much stronger heat and kills almost everything; pasteurization is gentler, and that is why this milk still needs the fridge. The word names the process, not the drink.

低溫殺菌、巴斯德殺菌法。台灣鮮乳包裝常寫「低溫殺菌」；中國大陸多寫「巴氏杀菌」。