#Pasteurization

A new report has detailed one of the most significant raw milk-related disease outbreaks in recent United States history, after over 160 people—most of them young children—fell ill due to Salmonella infections linked to raw milk products from a single California dairy farm. The incident, chronicled in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) on July 24, has renewed calls for consumer caution and public health awareness around unpasteurized dairy, with important lessons for Thai readers as interest in “fresh” and natural foods continues to rise both globally and domestically.

A viral “wellness” trend—drinking raw, unpasteurized milk—has swept through online communities, raising alarm among medical experts and public health officials worldwide. As influencers tout raw milk’s supposed health benefits on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, healthcare professionals urgently warn of serious risks associated with consuming unpasteurized dairy. This surge in interest, driven largely by social media wellness influencers, is confronting long-standing public health wisdom and challenging how consumers in Thailand, and elsewhere, assess food safety.

The Internet’s latest viral wellness obsession—drinking unpasteurized “raw” milk—has fueled a surge in demand worldwide, including on Thai social media platforms, but medical professionals are raising urgent concerns over its serious health risks. With raw milk advocates touting purported nutritional and immunity benefits, global health authorities and food safety experts warn that these claims are not only unproven but mask very real dangers—pathogenic infections, foodborne illness outbreaks, and even life-threatening complications, especially for children and the elderly (BuzzFeed; Wikipedia - Raw milk).