California Raw Milk Laws & Regulations

California operates the largest legal raw milk market in the United States. Permitted raw milk is stocked in hundreds of grocery stores, health food shops and food cooperatives across the state, which puts California in a small group of jurisdictions worldwide where raw milk is a normal retail product rather than a farm-gate exception.

Is raw milk legal in California?

Yes, for both retail and on-farm sale, under the California Food and Agricultural Code and Grade A raw milk regulations administered by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Unlike most states, California places no restriction on the sales channel: a permitted producer's milk may move through licensed retail establishments statewide. What California does instead is regulate the product to a demanding standard.

What producers must meet

Raw milk must come from a dairy farm holding a market milk permit issued by CDFA or a County Approved Milk Inspection Service (FAC 33222), scoring at least 90 percent on the market milk dairy farm sanitation scorecard (FAC 35891). Every animal producing milk sold raw must test negative for brucellosis (FAC 35601) and be found nonreactive for tuberculosis at least annually by a CDFA, USDA or USDA-accredited veterinarian (FAC 32903).

The microbiological limits are tighter than those applied in most raw milk jurisdictions: no more than 15,000 bacteria per millilitre and no more than 10 coliforms per millilitre (FAC 35781, 35891), with somatic cells capped at 600,000 per millilitre for cow milk and 1,500,000 per millilitre for goat milk (FAC 35781; 3 CCR 625). Milk must be cooled to 45°F or below within set timeframes around milking and held there until the consumer buys it (FAC 35782; 3 CCR 626). Bottling facilities must meet milk products plant sanitary requirements and score at least 80 percent on the plant scorecard (FAC 32513, 33701 to 33782).

Every container carries a prescribed warning under 17 CCR 11380 advising that raw milk and raw milk dairy products may contain disease-causing micro-organisms and naming the groups at highest risk.

Where to buy

Raw milk is abundantly available in California and easy to find. Permitted product is stocked in hundreds of retail locations statewide, including conventional grocery chains, natural food stores and food cooperatives, with strong coverage across the Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, the Central Valley and the coast, and it is sold at the farm as well. Raw Farm, formerly Organic Pastures, distributes the most widely and is the largest raw milk producer in the country. California collectively supplies more raw milk than any other state, and for most residents buying a bottle is a routine grocery trip rather than something that has to be tracked down.

Whole raw milk, raw cream, raw butter, raw kefir and raw cheeses are all available depending on the producer, giving California the broadest raw dairy range in the United States. For the federal framework, see the United States raw milk laws overview.