Final answer:
Sterility of items protected from the environment cannot be guaranteed indefinitely; factors such as barrier integrity and storage conditions play a crucial role in maintaining sterility.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement "Sterile items that are protected from the environment have been proven to remain sterile" can be classified as false. While it might seem logical that items remain sterile when protected, sterility can be compromised by various factors such as microscopic tears in the barrier, changes in temperature and humidity, or the barrier's shelf-life itself. To maintain a sterile field, critical precautions and storage conditions must be observed, and even then, sterility cannot be guaranteed indefinitely once items leave the controlled environment of sterilization.