Pasteurization of milk is a process by which milk is heated

Question

Pasteurization of milk is a process by which milk is heated to a certain temperature and then rapidly cooled, killing pathogens and increasing the shelf life of milk. Recently pasteurization has come under fire because it has been found that during pasteurization many helpful digestive enzymes are destroyed, and many dangerous pathogens are not, including the MAP bacterial strain, which is linked to Crohn’s disease. Because of this, some people have started drinking ‘raw milk’--milk that isn’t pasteurized or otherwise processed. Proponents of pasteurization point out that that pasteurization is still necessary to reduce bacterial contamination, and that heating milk at home also kills beneficial digestive enzymes.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the raw milk drinkers’ argument?

a) Most pathogenic contamination of milk happens during processing and is not associated with the milk itself. 
b) More people reported bacterial illness after drinking pasteurized milk this year than did last year.
c) The digestive enzymes in raw milk have been found to stimulate the growth of biologically beneficial bacteria in the small intestine. 
d) Fewer people reported bacterial illness after drinking raw milk this year than in previous years.
e) Because of advances in technology, in five years raw milk will be cheaper to produce than pasteurized milk.

Why the answer is A? Again, can someone explain how to effectively solve Strengthening questions please?

singage · Answer

Drop out options B) , C) & D) because there is not any kind of data evidence in the stimulus.
Drop E) because advances in technology will make pasteurized milk cheaper than raw milk and not vice - versa

Tip:- In strengthening questions the information in the stimulus is absolute and we attack answer choices.

omerrauf · Answer

The conclusion is that Raw milk drinkers are switching to raw milk because pasteuriation kills helpful bacteria and does not kill harmful pathogens. The only option that strengthens the conclusion is A which states that the pathogens are a result of pasteurization and not present in the milk itself. So therefore Raw Milk, even if it does not have helpful bacteria because of heating the milk, is atleast free of pathogens and hence a better option.

Answer is therefore A

Answer is therefore A

goalset · Answer

If processing of milk(ie. pasteurization) is causing contamination of milk then it is better if the intake of milk is in the raw form.
B,C,D,E are not related, as past years or present or the cost is not mentioned anywhere in the argument.

mysterio · Answer

As per stimulus, some people have started drinking ‘raw milk’--milk that isn’t pasteurized or otherwise processed because pasteurization kill helpful enzymes and leave dangerous pathogen untouched. On the other hand people who support pasteurization claim that heating milk also kills beneficial enzymes. So in order to strengthen this question, we have to weaken the pasteurization's proponent claim.

and this is what option A exactly does.  Most pathogenic contamination of milk happens during processing and is not associated with the milk itself  Thus pathogen present in pasteurized milk will not be present in raw milk.

B and D use a specific date/time which could not be used to generalize their claim on a whole.

C is out of scope. our scope here is to compare pasteurization vs raw milk. Other benefits of raw milk are out of scope

E is again out of scope on similar lines as D.

AliciaSierra · Answer

Could someone please explain why C is incorrect here.
As per last statement in argument --> Proponents of pasteurization point out that that pasteurization is still necessary. Option C supports it.

Regards,
Ammu

veergmat · Answer

Please pay attention to the question ....

"... most strengthens the raw milk drinkers’ argument.."

iikarthik · Answer

Hi,

Clearly,the suitable choices are A & C.But in option A, it only states "Processing".How are we to assume that processing is pasteurization?
Its because of this confusion I picked C,which gives one more reason (benefit) for the raw milk drinkers.

can someone pls explain?

rhine29388 · Answer

option B is out of scope w.r.t the topic in discussion
we don't know anything about the number of people affected from bacterial illness - this year or last year
option C is out of scope w.r.t the topic in discussion
completely OFS choice we are not at all talking about growth of bacteria in small intestine nor about digestive system
option D is a weakener w.r.t the topic in discussion
if fewer people got affected by drinking raw milk than raw milk is actually not that bad
option E is actually stating the opposite 
' Advancement in technology will make pasteurized milk cheaper than raw milk and not the other way around'
option A is actually providing a alternate reasoning for the pathogenic contamination of milk and thus a strengthener

Correct Answer - A

chesstitans · Answer

the type of this question is both strengthen and explanation. That is, a correct answer must strengthen one argument, but undermine another argument => A is correct.

C not only does not fit the question type, but C also does not directly link with the argument. In other words, C needs one more assumption that the enzyme in C is destroyed by the process, or pasteurization

chesstitans · Answer

the argument expressly states that process = pasteurization

honey1 · Answer

Pasteurization of milk is a process by which milk is heated to a certain temperature and then rapidly cooled, killing pathogens and increasing the shelf life of milk. Recently pasteurization has come under fire because it has been found that during pasteurization many helpful digestive enzymes are destroyed, and many dangerous pathogens are not, including the MAP bacterial strain, which is linked to Crohn???s disease. Because of this, some people have started drinking ???raw milk???--milk that isn???t pasteurized or otherwise processed. Proponents of pasteurization point out that that pasteurization is still necessary to reduce bacterial contamination, and that heating milk at home also kills beneficial digestive enzymes.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the raw milk drinkers??? argument?

a) Most pathogenic contamination of milk happens during processing and is not associated with the milk itself.
b) More people reported bacterial illness after drinking pasteurized milk this year than did last year.
c) The digestive enzymes in raw milk have been found to stimulate the growth of biologically beneficial bacteria in the small intestine.
d) Fewer people reported bacterial illness after drinking raw milk this year than in previous years.
e) Because of advances in technology, in five years raw milk will be cheaper to produce than pasteurized milk.
can you plz help me with this question
why option C is not our answer as it also strengthen raw milk drinkers arguments and how can we say that option A supports it more. 
THANK YOU

GMATGuruNY · Answer

C:  The digestive enzymes in raw milk have been found to stimulate the growth of biologically beneficial bacteria in the small intestine. 
This option seems to strengthen the PREMISE that unpasteurized milk -- in other words, raw milk -- has  many helpful digestive enzymes .
A premise is a FACT: it cannot be strengthened.
The correct answer must strengthen the CONCLUSION.
Eliminate C.

According to the passage, raw milk is  not otherwise processed .
A:  Most pathogenic contamination of milk happens during processing. 
Here, the premise that raw milk is  not otherwise processed  is linked to the avoidance of  most pathogenic contamination  -- information that SUPPORTS the drinking of raw milk.

A

VerbalBot · Answer

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Pasteurization of milk is a process by which milk is heated

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