A process used in the food industry to sterilize liquid beverages such as fresh fruit drinks and milk. It involves heating the liquid to a temperature of 140^ºC using a plate heat exchanger and holding the temperature for a couple of seconds. This is sufficient to destroy all potentially harmful pathogenic microorganisms and spores. The effect of the process on milk, however, is to caramelize the sugars giving a sweeter taste. It also denatures some of the proteins making processed milk unusable for making cheese. The process is also known as ultra heat treatment.