Raw milk sale is prohibited in Nova Scotia under the Dairy Industry Act, which bars unlicensed production, transport, processing and marketing.
Nova Scotia regulates raw milk primarily as a licensing and quota matter, with a dedicated set of regulations governing how raw milk may move between farm and plant.
The Dairy Industry Act (R.S. 2000, c. 24) defines raw milk as milk that has not been pasteurized and provides that no person shall engage in producing, transporting, processing, distributing or marketing dairy products without a licence. The Natural Products Act treats dairy products as regulated natural products and authorizes prohibition of marketing by unlicensed persons, with authority delegated to Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia. The Milk Production Regulations (N.S. Reg. 117/94) require that no producer sell milk for human consumption other than in accordance with the regulations.
The province additionally maintains Raw Milk Production and Transportation Regulations under the Dairy Industry Act, which set the conditions on which raw milk may be produced and moved and identify raw milk that is prohibited from being marketed or transferred. These govern the farm-to-plant leg of the supply chain; none of them open a route to consumers.
There is no legal source of raw drinking milk in Nova Scotia, and no herdshare or on-farm sales exemption. Aged raw milk cheese is legal under the federal 60 day rule, and the province has a small artisanal cheese sector working within it. For the national picture, see the Canada raw milk laws overview.
Official government documents and legal resources for Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia regulations under the Dairy Industry Act setting the conditions for producing and transporting raw milk and identifying raw milk prohibited from being marketed or transferred.
View Official Resource →The federal provision prohibiting the sale of unpasteurized milk nationwide since 1991. Subsection (2) exempts cheese, and food sold for further processing in order to pasteurize it.
View Official Resource →
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