Belgium Raw Milk Laws & Regulations

Raw milk is sold across Belgium as rauwe melk in Flanders and lait cru in Wallonia and Brussels. Farms sell it at the farm, at markets, door to door, from vending machines (melkautomaten) and through local shops. The rules are set by the Royal Decree of 7 January 2014 on direct supply of small quantities of food of animal origin by primary producers, and are enforced by the federal food safety agency (FAVV/AFSCA).

Is raw milk legal in Belgium?

Yes. Article 6 of the 2014 Royal Decree allows a producer to supply unpackaged raw milk and colostrum from their own farm:

• at the farm, filled in front of the customer;
• door to door within 80 km of the farm;
• at markets within 80 km of the farm;
• through milk vending machines at the farm or within 80 km of it; and
• to a local retail business that sells it directly to consumers.

Customers can bring their own containers or use ones supplied by the seller, filled in their presence.

Labels and shelf life

Where raw milk is sold, signs must read "Rauwe melk/colostrum. Koken voor gebruik" (raw milk/colostrum, boil before use), "Te gebruiken tot [datum]" (use by) and "Bewaren bij 0 tot 6 °C" (store at 0 to 6°C). Since a 2023 amendment, the use-by date may be no later than 72 hours after the first milking in the batch. For door-to-door sales and supply to shops, this information may be given in another way.

Volume tiers and quality

All direct sellers follow the general EU hygiene rules for raw milk production. Larger sellers take on more: a farm supplying more than 15,000 litres of raw cow's milk a year directly (2,000 litres for other species, 20 litres of colostrum) must also meet the EU plate count and somatic cell criteria, and one supplying more than half its production or more than 60,000 litres of cow's milk (8,000 litres for other species) falls under the full EU hygiene regulations. Direct sales pause if milk fails the plate count or cell count criteria for four consecutive months, or tests positive for antibiotic residues, and resume once new milk complies. Milk from a herd with a zoonosis in the milking species is not sold directly.

Raw milk in shops

CRU, the fresh market format run by Colruyt Group, stocks raw milk from Baliehof, a dairy farm in Jabbeke, West Flanders, sold under bilingual labels as Rauwe Hoevemelk and Lait de Ferme cru.

Finding raw milk in Belgium

Vending machines, farms and shops are listed at raw milk in Belgium. For a full guide, including vending machine rules and Dutch and French vocabulary, see Raw Milk in Belgium: Rauwe Melk, Lait Cru, and the FAVV Framework.