Provincial

Dairy plant licence

Every dairy product sold in BC — milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream — must be pasteurised and made in a licensed dairy plant. The exceptions: raw-milk cheese that meets the federal ageing rules; a café or restaurant making dairy products from a licensed plant’s milk ingredients for immediate eating; and a food premises that only freezes a licensed plant’s prepared mix, such as soft-serve.

Who issues it
BC Centre for Disease Control (Milk Industry Act)

The rules behind this page

Last checked 26 September 2026. We check this guide regularly against Island Health, provincial and municipal sources, but regulations and laws change often and we can’t guarantee it is complete or current. Confirm with Island Health and your municipality before you apply, build or sell.

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