Frozen raw colostrum (broddur) is legal to sell in Iceland, with a MAST certificate at the point of sale. Drinking milk and dairy products are pasteurised.
Raw colostrum is the raw dairy food sold legally in Iceland. Broddur (broddmjólk), the first milk after calving, is sold frozen by dairy farms and shops and is traditionally baked into ábrystir, a set custard. Drinking milk, skyr, butter and cheese are made from pasteurised milk.
Raw colostrum is. Iceland applies EU food hygiene law through the EEA Agreement, and Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 is in force there as Regulation 104/2010. Article 7a, added by Regulation 850/2012, reads: "Mjólk sem dreift er til neytenda, skal vera gerilsneydd og pakkað í neytendaumbúðir. Mjólkurvörur skulu unnar úr gerilsneyddri mjólk." In English: milk sold to consumers must be pasteurised and packed in consumer packaging, and dairy products must be made from pasteurised milk. The next paragraph makes the exception: "Þrátt fyrir ákvæði 1. mgr. er heimilt að dreifa ógerilsneyddri broddmjólk," meaning unpasteurised colostrum may be sold notwithstanding the first paragraph. Pasteurisation of milk has been required by law in Iceland since 1933.
Regulation 851/2012 on dairy products defines colostrum as milk from the first four days after calving, which sets when heated. Because the rule speaks of consignments and the point of sale, frozen broddur can be bought from the farm or from a shop that holds the certificate.
Under article 7a, Icelandic dairies make their cheese from pasteurised milk. In September 2016 the EFTA Surveillance Authority issued a reasoned opinion finding Iceland's requirements on imported egg and dairy products contrary to the EEA Agreement, noting that Regulation 853/2004 lets a state restrict only raw milk and raw cream intended for direct human consumption. Article 7a has not been amended since.
In a written answer to the Althingi in the 2015-16 session, the agriculture minister said rules allowing farm sales of raw milk on the Danish model "could well be considered" if there were requests for them.
Farms selling frozen broddur are listed at raw milk in Iceland. For what broddur is, how it is labelled and how ábrystir is made, see Raw Milk in Iceland: Broddur, Ábrystir and the Colostrum Exception. Neighboring North Atlantic rules are covered on the Norway, Faroe Islands and Greenland pages.
Official government documents and legal resources for Iceland
The amendment that added article 7a to Regulation 104/2010: milk to consumers must be pasteurised, with an exception for unpasteurised colostrum sold frozen with a MAST certificate.
View Official Resource →Iceland's regulation bringing EU Regulation 853/2004 into force, with all amendments, including article 7a on pasteurisation and colostrum.
View Official Resource →Regulation on dairy products. Annex I defines colostrum (broddmjólk) as milk from the first four days after calving, which sets when heated.
View Official Resource →The agriculture minister's written answer on unpasteurised milk: the history of the pasteurisation requirement, the colostrum conditions, and openness to rules for farm sales.
View Official Resource →ESA's 2016 finding that Iceland's restrictions on imported egg and dairy products, including products made from raw milk, are contrary to the EEA Agreement.
View Official Resource →MAST's guide to selling food direct from the farm, including the colostrum exception to the pasteurisation rule.
View Official Resource →
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Frozen raw colostrum (broddur) is the one raw dairy food sold legally in Iceland. The rules, the label, how ábrystir is made and where to buy it.
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