Formal raw milk sales are restricted in Tennessee, with commercial distribution requiring pasteurization. The 2025 Food Freedom Act excluded raw milk from its provisions. Limited informal access exists in the state's agricultural communities.
Formal commercial raw milk sales for human consumption are restricted in Tennessee under Tenn. Code Ann. §53-2-107 and associated regulations of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, which require pasteurization for commercially distributed milk. No licensed farm-direct, herdshare, or retail pathway has been formally established under Tennessee law. Tennessee passed a broad Food Freedom Act in 2025 that exempted many unprocessed and minimally processed farm foods from standard licensing requirements, but the legislation explicitly carved out raw milk, leaving the formal commercial restriction in place. Despite this, limited informal raw milk access exists in Tennessee's rural and agricultural communities, particularly in East Tennessee and the Cumberland Plateau region.
Tennessee consumers who seek raw milk typically access it through informal direct farm arrangements or through neighboring states. North Carolina, Kentucky, and Georgia all have frameworks of varying accessibility within driving distance of Tennessee communities. The Food Freedom Act carve-out reflected continued opposition from state agricultural and health officials to formalizing raw milk sales, and no formal licensing pathway has emerged in recent sessions. Advocacy for legalization continues, with Tennessee's farming communities maintaining a tradition of farm-direct food exchange that predates modern dairy regulation.
Latest developments and news related to raw milk in Tennessee
Tennessee's 2025 Food Freedom Act exempts many farm foods from licensing but explicitly excludes raw milk, keeping the state's prohibition in place despite food freedom language in the broader bill.
Read Article →Official government documents and legal resources for Tennessee
Tennessee statute requiring pasteurization for milk sold for human consumption, under which raw milk farm-direct, herdshare, and retail sales are prohibited.
View Official Resource →Search for raw milk sources near popular locations in Tennessee
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