Raw milk producers are making a renewed push to legislate the sale of unpasteurised milk.

“There’s a lot of ignorance. People don’t understand the facts about raw milk and how it can be done well,” raw milk dairy farmer Mark Tyler said.

Selling raw milk is currently illegal in Australia, but farmers can drink their own milk.

The Tyler family, who farm at Willunga Hill, about an hour out of Adelaide, now supply the niche product to about 700 investors in South Australia.

Raw milk is a premium product and sells for at least three times the farm-gate milk price.

“We’re just providing an alternative rather than dairy farmers being locked in as slaves for the big corporations,” Mr Tyler said.

Working within the legislation has not been easy, with authorities charging Mr Tyler for selling raw milk illegally.

After an appeal to the Supreme Court a mistrial was declared, and a new trial will begin later this year.

“In 15 years of testing, we’ve never had a pathogen in our milk,” Mr Tyler said.

But authorities say raw milk poses a health risk, especially to children.

A Victorian child died in 2014 after drinking raw milk marketed as bath milk, and in that state a bittering agent is now added to discourage consumption.

The regulator, Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ), said raw milk was more likely to contain deadly bacteria like E. coli, salmonella and listeria.