Retail and on-farm raw milk sales are legal in Pennsylvania under 7 Pa. Code Chapter 59. Pennsylvania has one of the most developed raw milk retail frameworks in the country, with permitted grocery stores and specialty retailers.
Pennsylvania has one of the most comprehensive raw milk regulatory frameworks in the United States. Under 7 Pa. Code Chapter 59, Subchapter E (Raw Milk), raw milk may be sold by licensed producers directly from the farm and through licensed retail establishments, including grocery stores, health food stores, and food cooperatives. Producers must obtain a Raw Milk Permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, maintain tuberculosis and brucellosis-tested herds, meet bacterial plate count and somatic cell count standards, and label raw milk with required statements and "sell-by" dates. Retail establishments stocking raw milk must also hold a permit. Pennsylvania's framework explicitly authorizes both producer-to-consumer and producer-to-retailer distribution.
Raw milk is widely available in Pennsylvania through licensed retail stores, including several major grocery chains and specialty food retailers. Pennsylvania's active Amish and Mennonite farming communities in Lancaster, Chester, and surrounding counties have been central to the state's raw milk market for generations. The regulatory framework has continued to evolve: a 2024 bill sought to expand the list of raw milk products licensed producers could sell (e.g., raw butter, cream), and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture advanced a rulemaking for licensed raw butter sales in 2026. Pennsylvania's accessible retail framework, combined with its proximity to New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C., makes it one of the most important raw milk markets in the eastern United States.
Latest developments and news related to raw milk in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's rulemaking to license raw butter sales advances through the regulatory process, with final publication targeted for mid-2026 under the existing raw milk framework.
Read Article →A 2024 Pennsylvania bill to extend the state's licensed raw milk framework to cover additional products including raw butter and cream, building on the existing retail permit system.
Read Article →Official government documents and legal resources for Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania regulation governing raw milk producer and retail permits, setting herd health, testing, labeling, and distribution standards. Authorizes both farm-direct and retail store sales.
View Official Resource →Search raw milk sources in Pennsylvania
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Founder of the Slow Food movement, the Ark of Taste, and Terra Madre, Carlo Petrini spent four decades defending artisanal food traditions, raw milk cheeses, and the right to good food worldwide.
Raw milk is accessible in most US states. No vending machine network has developed in any of them. The reasons are structural: no machine-specific framework, a bottling default, shopping habits incompatible with raw milk’s shelf life, and farm geography.
Where to find raw milk vending machines across Europe by country, with local search terms and directory links. Covers Italy, France, Slovenia, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Germany, and England.
Raw milk in France is available at the farm gate, from automated vending machines, and on the shelves of organic grocery stores, including Biocoop nationwide.
Switzerland’s federal food authorities have confirmed raw milk vending machines are permitted under a consumer information framework. Austria operates a formal inspection regime under AGES with mandatory boiling notices. Two Alpine approaches compared.
Squeezed by merchant pricing that paid farmers roughly 30 cents on the euro, Slovenian dairy farmers built a direct-sale raw milk vending network that now spans close to 70 locations nationwide.
