Raw milk is legal in New Zealand from MPI-registered farms: at the farm gate, from on-farm vending machines or by home delivery. Raw milk cheese is legal too.
Raw drinking milk is sold legally across New Zealand, straight from the farms that produce it. Farms registered with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) sell at the farm gate, from self-serve vending machines at the farm and by delivery to the buyer's home, with no limit on how much a household buys. Raw milk cheese is legal to make and sell as well.
Yes. The Raw Milk for Sale to Consumers Regulations 2015, in force since 1 March 2016, set up a regulated control scheme for raw milk sold directly to consumers. A farm registers with MPI after a pre-registration assessment and is then assessed and verified regularly, and its milk is tested and kept cold from milking to the buyer. The scheme covers raw milk of any species sold directly to the person who will drink it; the farms registered today milk cows.
Every sale is made by the registered farm directly to its customer, and shops do not resell raw drinking milk. Milk reaches the buyer within 30 hours of the start of milking and carries a use-by date no more than four days after milking.
Raw milk is labelled as raw (unpasteurised) milk, with a use-by date, a lot number, the farm's name and address, the storage direction "Store at or below 4 °C" and a warning statement set by MPI.
MPI publishes its registers of raw milk farm dairy operators and depot operators online, with each farm's registered address; in November 2026 it listed 20 farms, from Northland to Southland. Farms are listed at raw milk in New Zealand.
Cheese and other dairy products made from raw milk are legal to make and sell in New Zealand. MPI's Animal Products Notice: Raw Milk Products, in force since 1 July 2022, sets the requirements: milk from a dedicated herd that is free of bovine tuberculosis, a risk management programme covering both the farm and the cheesemaker, and a cheese made, through cooking, acidity, salt and maturing, so that it meets the food safety criteria. Unlike raw drinking milk, raw milk cheese can be sold in shops.
Official government documents and legal resources for New Zealand
The regulations behind the raw milk scheme: farm registration with MPI, sale direct to the consumer at the farm or by home delivery, labelling, and milk provided within 30 hours of milking.
View Official Resource →MPI guidance for farms and depot operators: registration, the regulated control scheme for raw milk sold directly to consumers, and the rules for raw milk products.
View Official Resource →The detailed requirements of the scheme: herd health, testing, labels and use-by dates, self-serve dispensing at the farm, depots and transport.
View Official Resource →Requirements for making raw milk cheese and other raw milk products in New Zealand, in force from 1 July 2022.
View Official Resource →MPI's public register of farms registered to sell raw drinking milk, with each farm's registered address. Choose "Raw Milk Depot Operator" for the registered depots.
View Official Resource →Search for raw milk sources near popular locations in New Zealand
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