Dairy & egg dishes

Can I sell raw (unpasteurised) milk in BC?

Milk, cheese, yogurt, butter and ice cream must be made in a licensed dairy plant — in every region. Dishes built on eggs or dairy, like custard and egg salad, are higher-risk, and so are plant-based cheeses, milks and egg substitutes.

However it was produced

At a farmers’ market
A market with a market manager — farmers’ markets, Christmas markets, craft fairs
No
No — not from the farm, at a market, online, or through a herd or cow share. BC’s Milk Industry Act forbids anyone to “sell, offer for sale or supply” unpasteurised dairy, BC also names raw milk a health hazard, and federal law bans its sale. The one unpasteurised product allowed is cheese made in a licensed dairy plant and aged at 2°C or warmer for at least 60 days.
At a festival or event
Fairs, festivals, sports events, fundraisers — anything that is not a market
No
No — not from the farm, at a market, online, or through a herd or cow share. BC’s Milk Industry Act forbids anyone to “sell, offer for sale or supply” unpasteurised dairy, BC also names raw milk a health hazard, and federal law bans its sale. The one unpasteurised product allowed is cheese made in a licensed dairy plant and aged at 2°C or warmer for at least 60 days.
From your door, shop or farm gate
Customers buy where you make, grow or sell it
No
No — not from the farm, at a market, online, or through a herd or cow share. BC’s Milk Industry Act forbids anyone to “sell, offer for sale or supply” unpasteurised dairy, BC also names raw milk a health hazard, and federal law bans its sale. The one unpasteurised product allowed is cheese made in a licensed dairy plant and aged at 2°C or warmer for at least 60 days.
Online, with pickup or delivery
Orders taken online, by message or by phone
No
No — not from the farm, at a market, online, or through a herd or cow share. BC’s Milk Industry Act forbids anyone to “sell, offer for sale or supply” unpasteurised dairy, BC also names raw milk a health hazard, and federal law bans its sale. The one unpasteurised product allowed is cheese made in a licensed dairy plant and aged at 2°C or warmer for at least 60 days.
To shops, cafés & restaurants
Wholesale, or on consignment in someone else’s store
No
No — not from the farm, at a market, online, or through a herd or cow share. BC’s Milk Industry Act forbids anyone to “sell, offer for sale or supply” unpasteurised dairy, BC also names raw milk a health hazard, and federal law bans its sale. The one unpasteurised product allowed is cheese made in a licensed dairy plant and aged at 2°C or warmer for at least 60 days.
To customers outside BC
Shipping or selling across a provincial border
No
No — not from the farm, at a market, online, or through a herd or cow share. BC’s Milk Industry Act forbids anyone to “sell, offer for sale or supply” unpasteurised dairy, BC also names raw milk a health hazard, and federal law bans its sale. The one unpasteurised product allowed is cheese made in a licensed dairy plant and aged at 2°C or warmer for at least 60 days.

The rules behind these answers

Sources

Milk Industry Act(ss. 6 and 13)Province of British Columbia (BC Laws) · Current to September 22, 2026
Health Hazards Regulation, B.C. Reg. 216/2011(s. 2(a))Province of British Columbia (BC Laws) · Current to September 22, 2026
Food and Drug Regulations, C.R.C., c. 870(B.08.002.2)Government of Canada (Justice Laws) · Current to 2026-09-03 (last amended 2026-06-17)
Food and Drug Regulations, C.R.C., c. 870(B.08.044)Government of Canada (Justice Laws) · Current to 2026-09-03 (last amended 2026-06-17)

Milk from your own cows, goats or sheep

There is no farm-gate exemption for milk, the way there is for eggs. Milk from your own animals can be sold — at the farm gate or anywhere else — only from a certified dairy farm, and only once it has been pasteurised in a licensed dairy plant.

Cow’s milk: selling any needs quota from the BC Milk Marketing Board — there is no small-herd exemption. The small-farm route is the board’s Cottage Industry Program: a small quota to process your own cows’ milk in your own licensed dairy plant on the farm, into products the board approves. On Vancouver Island that means cheese, yogurt and other made products; bottled milk is allowed only in remote regions, and the Island isn’t one.
Goat and sheep milk: no quota, but the same rules apply — a certified dairy farm, and pasteurising in a licensed dairy plant before any sale.
Raw (unpasteurised) milk can’t be sold from any animal, including through a herd or cow share. Cheese made in a licensed plant and aged at least 60 days is the one unpasteurised exception.

Where this comes from

Sources

Milk Industry Act(ss. 1, 5, 6 and 8)Province of British Columbia (BC Laws) · Current to September 22, 2026
British Columbia Milk Marketing Board Regulation (B.C. Reg. 167/94)(“milk”)Province of British Columbia (BC Laws) · As published on BC Laws
Consolidated Order, June 1, 2020(s. 4(1); definitions; Schedule 3, Cottage Industry Program)BC Milk Marketing Board · June 1, 2020
Health Hazards Regulation, B.C. Reg. 216/2011(s. 2(a))Province of British Columbia (BC Laws) · Current to September 22, 2026
Food and Drug Regulations, C.R.C., c. 870(B.08.044)Government of Canada (Justice Laws) · Current to 2026-09-03 (last amended 2026-06-17)

How it’s classified

In force — 2020 guideline

Its own rules

Listed in 2020 under “dairy products”; the Milk Industry Act prohibits selling it unpasteurised.

Sources

Guideline for the Sale of Foods at Temporary Food Markets(p. 9 · Appendix II, Higher Risk Foods)BC Centre for Disease Control · August 2020 revision
Milk Industry Act(s. 6)Province of British Columbia (BC Laws) · Current to September 22, 2026

Proposed — 2026 draft

Its own rules

Sources

Guideline for the Sale of Foods at Temporary Food Markets in British Columbia (draft)(p. 23 · Appendix II, Higher Risk Foods)BC Centre for Disease Control · 2026 draft, taken down after consultation; final due fall 2026Draft

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