Milk collection in Senegal is almost entirely informal and raw. No specific statutory prohibition on raw milk consumer sales has been identified. Lait caille (spontaneously fermented raw milk) is the primary traditional dairy product across the country.
Senegal's dairy regulatory framework is thin by regional standards. The primary documentary framework identified is a Guide de Bonnes Pratiques d'Hygiene (Good Hygiene Practices guide for dairy processing, updated 2011), which notably does not address cooling requirements for raw milk, indicating the limited reach of the formal regulatory system into the raw milk supply chain. No specific statutory provision explicitly prohibiting raw milk direct consumer sales has been identified in Senegalese law.
Milk collection in Senegal is described in academic literature as almost entirely informal, with direct farm-to-consumer and farm-to-processor sales dominating across the country. Lait caille (spontaneously fermented raw milk, similar to yogurt) is the primary traditional dairy product and is produced and sold without pasteurization throughout Senegal. Most small-scale processors in secondary towns lack pasteurization and packaging facilities. The situation is one of a regulatory vacuum rather than unenforced prohibition: formal standards exist for the processing sector but no enforcement infrastructure reaches the informal dairy trade.
Official government documents and legal resources for Senegal
Senegalese good hygiene practices guide for dairy processing. The primary public food safety document for the dairy sector; does not include cooling requirements for raw milk, reflecting the limited formal regulatory reach into the informal milk supply chain.
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