Dairy and Eggs — Food Standards Scotland
Food Standards Scotland's authoritative guidance confirming the complete ban on raw milk sales in Scotland and its legislative basis.
View Official Resource →Scotland Raw Milk Laws & Regulations
All raw milk sales banned since 1983. No exemptions or legal pathways exist for any species.
Legal Status & Regulations
The sale of raw drinking milk and raw cream is completely banned in Scotland. It is a criminal offence to place raw milk or raw cream on the market for direct human consumption, including through distribution networks and online sales. The ban applies to all farmed species.
Mandatory pasteurisation for cows' milk was introduced in 1983. The ban was extended to cover all farmed animal species in 2006. Food Standards Scotland continues to review the scientific evidence and maintains that mandatory pasteurisation is an effective public health measure, citing associations between raw milk consumption and serious illness from E. coli O157, Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Listeria.
No exemptions exist for herdshares, cow-share arrangements, on-farm sales, or any other direct-to-consumer model. A petition to the Scottish Parliament (PE1978) to lift the ban was not acted upon.
Official Government Resources
Official government documents and legal resources for Scotland
The Dairy Products (Hygiene) (Scotland) Regulations 1995
The Scottish statutory instrument that codified and maintained the 1983 raw milk ban under EU-harmonised dairy hygiene law.
View Official Resource →Find Raw Milk in Scotland
Search for raw milk sources near popular locations in Scotland
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