🧺 Market

A market is a place where farmers and households sell their produce directly to buyers, with no factory or store in between. People buy milk, cheese, sour cream, cream and butter there, often together with vegetables, honey and bread. In the USA, farmers' markets have become widespread: the USDA directory listed 1,755 of them in 1994 and 8,771 in 2019.

The main feature of market milk is that it may be raw, that is, unpasteurised. EU Regulation 853/2004 allows each country to restrict or ban the sale of raw milk for drinking. For raw cow's milk it sets limits: no more than 100,000 microbes and 400,000 somatic cells per 1 ml, and after milking it is cooled to no higher than 8 °C (or 6 °C if the milk is not collected every day).

In Ukraine, rules for laboratory testing of milk and dairy products at agri-food markets have applied since 29 April 2025 (Ministry of Agrarian Policy order No. 4150). A seller needs a veterinary document on the animals' health and a report from an accredited laboratory that works right at the market.

Why it matters to you. Raw milk is the riskiest product at a market. In the USA in 1998–2018 it was linked to 202 disease outbreaks and 2,645 illnesses, most often caused by Campylobacter, and in states where raw milk sales are allowed there were 3.2 times as many outbreaks. The FDA stresses that raw milk does not cure lactose intolerance or allergies and is no more nutritious than pasteurised milk. Buy dairy where there is a laboratory, ask to see its report, and give children, pregnant women and older people only pasteurised milk.