Option for Raw Milk Consumption
House Bill 609 would create a new legal pathway in North Carolina for the retail sale of raw, unpasteurized milk and certain raw milk products directly to consumers. Under current law, milk sold or dispensed directly to consumers must be Grade A pasteurized milk, and raw milk may generally be sold only to permitted haulers or processing facilities. The bill would preserve those restrictions in part, but add a new section authorizing licensed farms to sell raw milk and raw milk products on the farm of origin or at a farm stand owned by the farm operator within 100 miles of the farm, subject to Department of Agriculture oversight.
To qualify for a raw milk license, a farm would have to meet a series of health, sanitation, testing, and labeling requirements. These include annual inspections, annual tuberculosis and brucellosis confirmation, annual veterinary exams, periodic water testing, regular bacterial and pathogen testing, cooling standards, and prominent warning labels stating that raw milk is not pasteurized and may contain harmful organisms. The bill also directs the Board of Agriculture to adopt rules to implement the new licensing system and takes effect January 1, 2026.
The bill would amend G.S. 106-266.35 and add new G.S. 106-266.35A to Chapter 106 of the North Carolina General Statutes, creating an exception to the state’s general prohibition on direct-to-consumer sales of raw milk. It would authorize the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to issue one-year raw milk licenses and enforce compliance through inspections, testing, and labeling requirements. The measure would affect dairy farmers, consumers seeking raw milk, and state regulators by establishing a regulated retail market for raw milk and raw milk products such as cream, butter, kefir, cottage cheese, buttermilk, and certain cheeses.
The available record shows no committee transcript and no recorded votes, so there is no documented floor or committee debate to gauge broader legislative sentiment. Based on the bill’s structure, the measure appears designed to expand consumer choice while retaining significant public-health safeguards, suggesting a regulatory rather than deregulatory approach. The bill’s sponsors indicate support for allowing additional sales of natural, unpasteurized milk under controlled conditions.
The central point of contention is likely to be food safety versus consumer choice. Supporters would favor the bill as a way to permit direct farm sales of raw milk while imposing testing, inspection, and warning-label requirements; opponents would likely focus on the risk of foodborne illness from unpasteurized dairy products and the adequacy of the proposed safeguards. Another possible issue is the scope of permitted sales, including whether sales at off-farm farm stands within 100 miles should be allowed and whether the state should create a retail market for products that are currently tightly restricted.