Nigeria Raw Milk Laws & Regulations

Nigeria's food safety authority, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), issued Milk and Dairy Products Regulations, 2021 requiring pasteurization for milk destined for commercial distribution. NAFDAC registration is required for processed dairy products sold through formal channels. These regulations effectively apply only to the small formal dairy processing sector operating in major cities.

Approximately 95% of Nigeria's milk production comes from nomadic and semi-nomadic Fulani herdsmen, who sell raw milk and fermented raw milk products through informal channels with no regulatory oversight. Nono (spontaneously fermented raw milk) and fura da nono (a drink combining fermented milk with millet balls) are significant cultural foods for Hausa and Fulani communities, sold openly in markets throughout northern Nigeria and in cities nationally. The informal trade operates outside the scope of NAFDAC enforcement, which focuses on licensed processors rather than pastoral producers and market vendors.