Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Food preservation mechanisms are broadly divided into preventive barrier methods (asepsis), microbial destruction (sterilization/pasteurization), and growth inhibition (drying/freezing).
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Asepsis refers to the practice of keeping microorganisms out of foods and avoiding contamination from external sources.
Washing, hygienic plant cleanliness, protective skins/husks, and hermetic packaging are asepsis methods.
Pasteurization is a thermal processing method that actively destroys vegetative pathogens and enzymes in the product, rather than merely excluding them.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Thus, pasteurization is NOT a method of asepsis.