Raw Milk in the UK: Benefits, Risks and the Law (2026 research Review)

What is raw milk, and is it legal in the UK?

Raw milk (also called raw drinking milk or unpasteurised milk) goes from the animal to the bottle without heat treatment. Most UK milk is pasteurised: heated briefly to kill harmful bacteria.

According to the Food Standards Agency:

• England, Wales and Northern Ireland: raw cows' milk is legal but can only be sold directly to consumers by registered raw drinking milk farms at the farm gate (including vending machines and direct online sales), at registered farmers' markets, or from a vehicle used as a shop such as a milk round. It cannot be sold in supermarkets or ordinary shops.
• Scotland: sales of raw drinking milk and raw cream are completely banned.
• Controls: milk must come from animals free from brucellosis and tuberculosis, farms are inspected twice a year, bottles must carry a health warning, and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) tests samples on the FSA's behalf.

Online sales and delivery have made it much easier to buy than a decade ago.

What it claims

Raw milk advocates say it:

1. Reduces allergies and asthma, especially in children.
2. Is more nutritious, because heat destroys vitamins, enzymes and beneficial bacteria.
3. Is easier to digest, including for people with lactose intolerance.
4. Is low risk if it comes from a clean, well-run farm.

What the evidence shows

Does raw milk reduce asthma and allergies?

This is the most interesting claim, and it comes from serious research. Large European studies of rural children found that those who drank unprocessed farm milk had less asthma and hay fever:

• The GABRIELA study found raw farm milk was linked to about 40% lower odds of asthma, and boiled farm milk showed no such link, pointing to heat-sensitive whey proteins (Loss et al. 2011).
• The PARSIFAL study found the link in both farm and non-farm children across Europe (Waser et al. 2007).
• A 2020 meta-analysis of eight studies found early-life farm milk was associated with 42% lower odds of asthma (Brick et al. 2020).

The honest caveats: all of these are observational studies in rural European children, and they compare milk straight from the farm tank with shop milk that is both pasteurised and homogenised. Importantly, the authors of the 2020 meta-analysis themselves say raw milk should not be recommended because of the infection risk. Their research aims to develop a minimally processed milk that keeps the protective proteins without the pathogens. There are no trials showing that adults, or city children, who switch to raw milk get fewer allergies.

Is raw milk more nutritious than pasteurised milk?

Only slightly. A systematic review and meta-analysis found pasteurisation lowers some vitamins (B1, B2, C and folate), but milk is not an important source of most of these, and the authors concluded the effect on milk's nutritional value was minimal. Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is the one where milk matters, and losses are modest (Macdonald et al. 2011). Calcium, protein and fat are not meaningfully changed by pasteurisation.

Is raw milk easier to digest for lactose intolerance?

The same review found no evidence that raw milk helps lactose intolerance. Raw and pasteurised milk contain the same lactose. If you are lactose intolerant, lactose-free milk is the evidence-backed option.

How risky is raw milk in the UK?

Raw milk can carry Campylobacter, E. coli O157 (a strain that can cause kidney failure in children), Salmonella and Listeria. Even a well-run farm with clean equipment cannot remove the risk, because these bacteria can live in healthy cows' guts and get into milk during milking. UK examples include:

• A 2017 E. coli O157 outbreak on the Isle of Wight, with seven cases traced to one farm's raw drinking milk using whole genome sequencing; sales were suspended and milk recalled (Treacy et al. 2019).
• An earlier E. coli O157 outbreak in England linked to raw drinking milk, where genome sequencing found additional cases that standard methods missed (Butcher et al. 2016).

The FSA's position is that raw milk "may contain harmful bacteria that can cause food poisoning" (FSA).

Who should never drink raw milk?

The FSA advises that these groups should not consume raw milk or raw cream:

• Pregnant women (the NHS also lists unpasteurised milk, cream, yoghurt, butter and ice cream as foods to avoid in pregnancy, mainly because of Listeria).
• Babies and young children.
• People aged 65 or over.
• Anyone with a weakened immune system, such as people having cancer treatment, organ transplant recipients or those on immune-suppressing drugs.

Why does pasteurisation matter so much?

Before pasteurisation became routine in the twentieth century, milk was a major route for tuberculosis, brucellosis and severe food poisoning in British children. Heat treatment at around 72°C for 15 seconds kills these pathogens while leaving milk's protein, fat and calcium essentially intact. Modern hygiene and herd testing have reduced the risks of raw milk compared with a century ago, but they cannot remove bacteria that live harmlessly in a healthy cow's gut and reach the milk during milking. That is why even well-run, regularly inspected farms have been linked to outbreaks, and why the FSA keeps raw milk off supermarket shelves.

Who might reasonably choose it anyway?

Healthy adults are legally free to buy raw milk in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. If you choose to:

• Buy only from a registered raw drinking milk producer (the bottle must carry the FSA health warning).
• Keep it cold (below 5°C) and use it well within its date.
• Do not give it to children, older relatives or anyone pregnant in your household.
• If you develop bloody diarrhoea, especially in a child, seek medical help quickly and mention raw milk.

If you want the taste without the risk: what to look for

Many people who try raw milk are really after creamy, unhomogenised whole milk from grass-grazed herds. You can get that pasteurised:

• Unhomogenised whole milk (the cream rises to the top), widely sold in supermarkets.
• Breed-specific milk such as Jersey or Guernsey, which is higher in fat and protein.
• PASTURE PROMISE (Free Range Dairy) or organic labels for cows that graze outdoors. See our guide to UK food labels.

We do not recommend specific raw milk products.

Bottom line

Raw milk's benefits are mostly unproven, and its main risk, serious bacterial infection, is well documented in England. The farm-milk allergy research is genuine and worth watching, but even those researchers advise against drinking raw milk. If you are pregnant, elderly, immunocompromised or buying for children, do not drink it. If you want richer, grass-grazed milk, unhomogenised pasteurised whole milk gives you most of the appeal without the gamble.