Raw Milk Laws by State & Country

Raw milk in the US is decided state by state. Federal law bans only interstate sales; roughly 30 states allow retail, on-farm, or herdshare access.

Raw milk is legal from FSA-registered farms in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with 149 producers on the March 2026 register. Banned in Scotland.

Traditional village dairy production with raw milk widely available from farms. No formal consumer sales framework confirmed.

Raw cow milk is banned for human consumption in all states and territories. Raw goat milk is permitted with restrictions in four states.

Legal at farm gate and through farm vending machines. A visible notice that raw milk should be boiled before consumption is required.

No consumer retail pathway for raw milk. Bahrain implements GCC/GSO harmonized standards requiring pasteurization for commercially sold milk. Domestic dairy production is minimal; most dairy is imported.

Legal at farm and through some retail channels. Farm vending machines operate across the country.

No formal consumer raw milk framework. Direct village-to-consumer farm sales are widely practiced throughout the country with minimal enforcement.

No federal authorization for consumer raw milk sales. State-level artisanal dairy frameworks — particularly in Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul — permit farm-direct raw milk products. Informal farm sales are widely practiced.

Raw milk production regulated under Order No. 5 of May 2023. The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency oversees farms and conducts official sampling.

Canada is the only G7 nation where raw milk cannot be sold legally. The federal ban has stood since 1991 with no provincial exemption. Cheese is exempt.

Commercial sale of raw milk is prohibited; all raw milk must enter the licensed processing supply chain under State Council regulations enacted after the 2008 melamine scandal. On-site consumption at agritourism venues is not explicitly addressed by commercial regulations.

Pasteurization required for commercial milk under Decree 616/2006. Traditional raw milk sales at local markets and directly from farms are widely practiced with minimal enforcement.

Pasteurization required for commercially sold milk under SENASA and Ministerio de Salud regulations. Farm-direct raw milk sales occur informally; enforcement has been more active than in some regional neighbors.

Farm vending machines operate across the country. Growing consumer adoption documented in academic research.

EU member state operating under EU Regulation (EC) No 853/2004. Farm-direct raw milk sales practiced with traditional small-scale sheep and goat dairy production. Veterinary Services oversees compliance.

Legal at farm and via registered vending machines. Registration with the regional State Veterinary Administration required. Mandatory heat-treat-before-use warning.

Farm-gate sales to consumers are legal. Raw milk may also be supplied by farms directly to food businesses such as shops and restaurants.

Pasteurization required under INEN NTE standards and ARCSA regulations. Traditional farm-direct and market sales of raw milk are widely practiced, particularly in highland dairy regions.

Approximately 85% of milk sold in Egypt is loose, raw milk distributed by street vendors, in bags, or directly from farmers. Raw milk is the dominant urban market form and a long-standing consumer preference, particularly for buffalo milk.

Pasteurization required under MAG and Ministerio de Salud regulations. Traditional farm-direct and market sales of raw milk are practiced, particularly in rural areas.

Legal for veterinary-certified farms. Sold through vending machines, farmers markets, and grocery stores. Agriculture and Food Board certification and bi-monthly pathogen testing required.

No specific statutory prohibition on raw milk consumer sales has been identified. Raw milk consumption is near-universal across most of the country; the formal pasteurized sector serves only major cities. Extensive pastoralist communities (Afar, Somali, Oromo) consume raw milk and camel milk as dietary staples.

Packaged raw milk sold in retail supermarkets including K-citymarket and Prisma. Online or distance orders require collection from the farm.

Legal via farm gate, vending machines, and packaged retail distribution under the Arrete du 13 juillet 2012. Prefectural authorization required with no volume or distance restrictions.

Certified Vorzugsmilch sold in retail shops. Unpackaged raw milk also sold direct at farm gate with same-day production and a mandatory boil warning.

Ghana's Food and Drugs Authority requires pasteurization for commercial milk under the Public Health Act 2012, but approximately 90% of milk traders do not pasteurize. Nunu, a spontaneously fermented raw milk product, is a traditional food in Ghana's northern regions.

Commercial pasteurization required under national food law. Direct farm sales and informal retail are widely practiced in rural areas with minimal enforcement.

Farm milk taps and direct farm sales operate across the country as part of the broader Central European vending machine trend.

Raw milk is widely consumed through the traditional milkman (doodhwala) system. FSSAI regulations require pasteurization for organized commercial dairy, but direct small-quantity producer-to-consumer sales are a recognized traditional practice.

Raw milk sale is barred from dairy shops in Iran by veterinary circulars, but bulk milk (shir-e felleh) is widely sold and traditional dairy culture is strong.

Legal for registered producers via farm gate, farmers markets, and local independent retailers within the farm supply area.

Raw milk sale is prohibited in Israel: farmers may sell only to licensed dairies. It circulates through traditional communities and health food channels.

Legal at farm or licensed farm-gate outlets. Strict monthly microbiological testing, mandatory labeling, and a biennial Raw-Milk Operator certificate required.

On-farm consumption (bokujō innyō / 牧場飲用) is the only legal pathway. Commercial sale requires pasteurization under the Ministerial Ordinance on Milk and Dairy Products. Some farms offer raw milk to on-site visitors.

No formal retail pathway for raw milk. Approximately 5% of Jordan's milk supply moves through informal door-to-door channels without processing. Bedouin communities in southern Jordan consume raw goat, sheep, and camel milk as a cultural staple; 92% of camel milk consumers in these communities drink it raw.

No explicit ban on raw milk retail; as an EAEU founding member, TR CU 033/2013 governs dairy products on paper. Raw milk is widely sold at informal bazaars with minimal enforcement outside licensed commercial operations.

Urban raw milk sales and hawking are banned under the Dairy Industry Regulations, 2021. The only legal raw milk pathway is a narrow rural exception: producers may sell small quantities directly to neighboring consumers without resale. Active enforcement campaign underway as of 2026.

Traditional dairy culture with informal farm-to-consumer raw milk sales consistent with the regional pattern.

Raw milk circulates in a regulatory grey zone. The Ministry of Health has issued warnings against unlicensed raw milk sales at farms, homes, and shops across Kuwait. At least one commercial service openly delivers raw cow milk to consumers. No formal retail licensing pathway has been confirmed.

No explicit ban on raw milk retail; as an EAEU member, TR CU 033/2013 applies. Raw milk is very widely produced and sold at markets throughout the country, including significant informal cross-border trade with Kazakhstan.

Retail sale authorized by PVD. Raw milk available in grocery stores in Riga and direct from farms. Authorization and laboratory testing required for producers.

Extensive informal artisanal raw milk sector centered in the Bekaa Valley. Ministry of Agriculture farm registration is required but no retail-level pasteurization mandate is consistently enforced. Lebanon became home to the region's first RAWMI-listed dairy in December 2025.

Direct farm sales to consumers are legal. Retail shop sales are not permitted.

Federally prohibited under NOM-243-SSA1-2010, but widely sold informally at markets and farms with minimal enforcement.

No local dairy production. French food safety law applies in practice via the France-Monaco customs union, making retail raw milk — legal in France — accessible through French supply chains.

Street sale of raw milk is technically prohibited under the Food Safety Law (2012); raw milk may be sold through licensed one-stop milk sales centers. A large informal market of direct producer sales operates alongside certified channels, with minimal enforcement.

Traditional rural dairy culture with informal farm-to-consumer sales widely practiced. No formal consumer raw milk authorization framework confirmed.

Moroccan law explicitly requires all milk for human consumption to be industrially pasteurized under Decree No. 2-00-425 (2000) and Law No. 28-07 on food safety. ONSSA enforces for licensed facilities. Informal peri-urban sales are tolerated in practice but the legal prohibition is clear.

Raw cow and buffalo milk is widely sold through farms, local cooperatives, and traditional milkman channels. No formal consumer raw milk framework exists; traditional direct sales operate without specific legal authorization.

Legal at farm and through local retailers supplying directly to consumers. Enhanced monthly hygiene testing required under 2025 rules.

Legal via farm gate, home delivery, and MPI-registered depot operators. Producers must register under the Regulated Control Scheme.

NAFDAC regulations require pasteurization for commercially sold milk, but approximately 95% of Nigerian milk production moves through informal Fulani pastoral channels without processing. Nono and fura da nono are widely consumed traditional fermented raw milk products.

Traditional dairy market with farm-direct raw milk sales common. No formal consumer raw milk framework confirmed.

Sale of raw milk to consumers is illegal. A 2017 proposal to allow limited farm sales was reviewed and rejected. Raw milk cheese has been permitted since 2002.

No consumer retail pathway for raw milk. Oman follows GSO 984:2015. Government dairy development actively promotes a pasteurized commercial supply chain, including for camel milk. Traditional raw camel milk consumption occurs among nomadic and semi-nomadic communities in Dhofar and southern Oman.

Raw milk is the predominant consumer form, distributed through the traditional milkman (dodhi) system. Pasteurization is required for formal packaged retail but is minimally enforced in the informal sector.

Pasteurization required for commercial milk under Norma Técnica Peruana NTP 202.001. Traditional farm-direct and market sales widely practiced, particularly in Andean dairy regions.

No formal legal pathway for consumer raw milk sales. Direct farm sales are widely practiced across the country with minimal enforcement.

Direct farm supply of small quantities of raw cow milk is legal under Portaria n.o 74/2014. DGAV authorization required.

Pasteurization required for commercially sold milk under Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture Regulation No. 70. No intrastate raw milk exemption is known to exist.

No consumer retail pathway for raw milk. Qatar's Ministry of Public Health enforces food safety standards under Food Law No. 8 of 1990 and follows GCC/GSO harmonized pasteurization requirements for commercially sold milk.

Farm vending machines in operation. Promoted as part of short food supply chain development for Romanian farms.

Raw milk sold at farm markets and directly from producers under EAEU Technical Regulation TR EAEU 033/2013, which explicitly recognizes farm-to-consumer raw milk sales as a permitted category.

Formal framework channels milk through licensed Milk Collection Centers; over 60% of the market remains informal raw milk. Traditional fermented raw milk (Ikivuguto) is a cultural staple.

No formal pathway for raw cow or goat milk. The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) enforces pasteurization requirements under GSO 984:2015. Raw camel milk is sold informally at roadside stalls and directly from Bedouin farms, a practice considered culturally distinct from commercial dairy.

Milk collection in Senegal is almost entirely informal and raw. No specific statutory prohibition on raw milk consumer sales has been identified. Lait caille (spontaneously fermented raw milk) is the primary traditional dairy product across the country.

Legal through a two-tier system of registered and approved small-scale dairy plants. Raw milk sold at farm, local green markets, and local retail outlets under Veterinary Directorate oversight.

Farm vending machines operate across the country under the EU hygiene framework.

Legal at farm, through mlekomat vending machines since 2010, and in retail shops since 2018. Over 100 machines registered nationwide.

Legal only in local authority jurisdictions listed in Annex C of R1555. Producing herds must be enrolled in the national TB and Brucellosis schemes.

Nationally prohibited since 1990 but widely practiced with minimal enforcement. Catalonia established an explicit legal framework for direct farm sales in 2018.

Farm-gate sales legal for registered producers up to 70 litres per week. A written warning that the milk may contain harmful bacteria is required. Retail shops are not permitted to sell raw milk.

Sold through approximately 400 farm vending machines. Swiss food regulations require machines to carry a notice that the milk requires heating before consumption.

No confirmed prohibition on raw milk sales; veterinary certification is technically required for commercial sale of animal products. Tajikistan is not an EAEU member; enforcement capacity is severely limited and raw milk is widely sold at bazaars.

Formally prohibited under the 2007 Dairy Industry Regulations, but approximately 95% of the national milk supply is sold through informal channels without processing. Maasai and other pastoralist communities consume and sell raw milk as a dietary and cultural staple.

Raw milk sold at weekly bazaars and directly from small producers. Formal commercial retail requires pasteurization under the Turkish Food Codex, but farm-direct and market sales are traditional and widely tolerated.

No confirmed ban on raw milk sales; regulated by national standards based on Soviet-era GOST norms administered by Turkmenstandart. Traditional camel milk (chal) is culturally significant and widely produced and consumed.

DDA licensing required for milk vendors; in practice approximately 90% of the milk supply moves through informal channels as raw milk. A proposed urban ban announced in 2021 has not been implemented.

Raw milk widely sold at farm markets and directly from producers. Formal EU-aligned regulatory framework exists under the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, but enforcement is minimal.

No formal licensing pathway for raw milk retail exists under UAE Cabinet Resolution No. 29 of 2018. In practice, farm-direct and grey-market raw milk sales are accessible: delivery services openly advertise unpasteurized cow, goat, camel, and buffalo milk. Raw camel milk from family farms is widely consumed; a 2022 study found 58% of camel milk consumers in the UAE drink it unpasteurized.

No confirmed ban on raw milk retail; Cabinet of Ministers Decree No. 474 (2017) established a technical regulation for dairy products. Raw milk and traditional fermented dairy products are widely produced and sold at bazaars.

Formal regulations require pasteurization for commercial milk. Raw milk is widely consumed through traditional farm and market channels, with enforcement of commercial standards significantly reduced in recent years.