Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed legislation this month that marks Iowa as one of 33 states that allow the sale of unpasteurized milk. Senate Bill 315 defines raw milk dairy as “an operation, owned or operated by a raw milk producer where not more than ten dairy animals are maintained to produce milk at any one time actively.”

The new law permits sales from dairy sites only in containers that clearly state their contents as raw milk. The decision is poignant to food safety officials since unpasteurized milk can harbor dangerous microorganisms. For this reason, state farm groups like the Iowa State Dairy Association opposed the bill.

Even so, the legislation still maintains “one heck of a lot of regulation, ” as stated by Representative Bobby Kaufmann, the Republican legislator who has driven the bill for two decades. The raw milk cannot be sold at farmers’ markets or in restaurants and must be stored at 45°F or lower.

Read more on raw milk sale requirements here.