SA couple face fine over selling raw milk

A South Australian farming couple faces a fine for selling raw milk as the state government is urged to drop its "nanny state" laws on unpasteurised dairy produce.

Mark and Helen Tyler operated a scheme south of Adelaide where people bought shares in a cow and then consumed their own, unpasteurised, milk.

Prosecutors argued that still constituted a sale of milk under the Food Act, with a magistrate agreeing on Tuesday that they had contravened the Food Standards Code.

Sales of raw milk are illegal in South Australia because of health concerns.

The death of a three-year-old Victorian boy last year was linked to the consumption of raw milk which had been sold as bath milk.

The Greens say they will try to overturn the SA ban describing Tuesday's ruling as a blow to consumers who enjoy less processed products.

"There is a clear demand for unpasteurised milk and milk products in the community and the Greens urge the government to ditch the nanny state approach in favour of sensible regulations," Greens MP Mark Parnell said.

He said instead of prosecuting the Tylers the government should have worked to bring the raw milk industry within the regulatory framework.

But Health Minister Jack Snelling welcomed the magistrate's ruling and said the Tylers were clearly seeking a way around the current law.

"I just echo the advice from medical experts around Australia that drinking unpasteurised milk can be very, very dangerous," the minister said.