Though most states are still in their legislative sessions, 2025 has already brought the passage and enactment of several food related laws. States have tackled issues such as cottage foods, food additives, alternative proteins, raw milk, and more. This article will highlight several of these bills. To stay up to date on state food-law related bills, click here to subscribe to NALC’s biweekly newsletter “The Feed.”
Raw Milk
Raw milk is the term given to milk that has not gone through the bacteria-killing process of pasteurization. On the federal level, milk sold in interstate commerce is required to be pasteurized. This means that raw milk may not be sold from state to state; however, the FDA does not prohibit an individual from purchasing raw milk and personally transporting it across state lines for their own use. On a state level, states are tasked with regulating the sale of raw milk in intrastate commerce. Because of this, regulation of raw milk on the state level varies from state to state. Currently, eighteen states outright ban the sale of raw milk, while 32 allow its sale when certain conditions are met. So far in 2025, three states have enacted laws to update their regulation of raw milk – Arkansas, Utah, and North Dakota. To learn more about raw milk, click here to read NALC article “Amos Miller and the Regulation of Raw Milk.”
Arkansas
Arkansas enacted HB1048 to extend its raw milk provision to allow raw goat, sheep, and whole milk to be sold directly to consumers at a farmer’s market or via delivery from the farm where the milk was produced. Previously, raw milk was only permitted for sale in Arkansas at the farm where the milk was produced. This amendment still requires raw milk to only be sold directly to consumers and prohibits raw milk from being sold to wholesalers. HB1048 is codified at Ark. Code § 20-59-248(b), and will become effective 90 days after the final, official day of the legislative session.
Utah
HB414 has been enacted in Utah. This legislation amends Utah’s raw milk provisions by updating its process for handling foodborne illness outbreaks related to raw milk. First, the law defines the term “foodborne illness outbreak” as “the occurrence of two or more cases from different households of a similar illness resulting from the ingestion of a common food.” The law creates thresholds of contamination that if exceeded require the raw milk to be tested for the following pathogens, shiga toxin-producing e. coli, listeria monocytogenes, salmonella, and campylobacter. Additionally, the law updates the cease and desist process a raw milk producer must abide by if a foodborne illness outbreak is traced back to their product. The Utah law takes effect on May 7, 2025.
North Dakota
North Dakota has enacted HB1131 which extends its raw milk provisions to “raw milk products.” Under the new law, raw milk products are permitted to be sold directly to an end consumer in North Dakota but remain prohibited from being sold to a wholesaler or retail store for mass consumption. Additionally, raw milk and raw milk products may not be sold outside the state or donated. HB1131 does not define “raw milk products,” however a 2023 North Dakota Department of Agriculture “Raw Milk Guide For Consumers and Producers” lists cream, cheese, or yogurt as examples of raw milk products. HB1131 also includes a provision that requires producers of raw milk or raw milk products to label products as “raw milk” or “made with raw milk.” Since there is no effective date listed in HB1131, it will become effective on August 1, 2025, per the Constitution of North Dakota.
Cottage Food
Because of the robust licensing and inspection requirements in its food industry, the United States is fortunate to have the safest food supply in the world. However, compliance with those requirements can often be expensive for food manufacturers. To create opportunities for smaller food manufacturers, most states have enacted “cottage food” laws that exempt certain manufacturers from traditional inspection and licensing requirements. Cottage food laws vary from state to state, and each year, several states propose changes to their laws. Specifically, North Dakota updated its cottage food laws in 2025. SB2386 amends North Dakota’s law to allow cottage food to be sold in interstate commerce, and sold over the internet or phone, through the mail, or by consignment. Previously, cottage food in North Dakota was not permitted to be sold across state lines, nor was it permitted to be sold through means other than in person. Further, though North Dakota’s cottage food laws allow uninspected poultry products to be sold if they meet certain requirements, this new law excludes those uninspected poultry products from being permitted for sale in interstate commerce. North Dakota’s cottage food laws are codified at N.D. Cent. Code § 23-09.5-02, and similar to HB1131, SB2386 will take effect on August 1, 2025.
Food Additives
A topic that has received a lot of attention from multiple states in 2025 is food additives. A food additive is a substance added to food for a specific purpose. Though often lumped together by state legislation, federal law distinguishes food additives from color additives. A color additive is also a substance added to food for a specific purpose, but its purpose is to dye the food a certain pigment. Food additives and color additives can be naturally occurring or synthetically created. Particularly, many states are seeking legislation that prohibits the inclusion of synthetic food additives and color additives in foods. This legislation trend follows the enactment of the California Food Safety Act – which was the first time a state in the U.S. banned certain food additives. To learn more about the California law, click here to read NALC article “Update on Proposed Food Additive Bans.”
West Virginia
Following the enactment of HB2354, in West Virginia a food is considered adulterated if it contains any added substance or ingredients which are “poisonous or injurious to the health, including butylated hydroxyanisole, propylparaben, Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Green No. 3, Red No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, and Yellow No. 6.” The West Virginia code establishes a penalty for adulterating food and manufacturing or selling adulterated food; however, HB2354 carves out an exception for a person who sells less than $5,000 in aggregate of food that is adulterated by including the listed food additives. Additionally, HB2354 prohibits the following food additives from being an ingredient in any meal served in a school nutrition program: Red No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Green No. 3. However, the law does carve out an exception allowing schools to sell foods with those additives at a school fundraising event occurring off school property or on school property at least one-half hour after the end of the school day. HB2354 specifies that the provisions establishing food with certain additives as an adulterant shall go into effect on January 1, 2028, but the provisions pertaining to the prohibition of food additives in school meals will go into effect on August 1, 2025.
Virginia
Virginia has enacted a similar bill that specifically pertains to color additives in school meals. SB1289 prohibits public elementary or secondary schools from offering or making available to any student a food that contains any of the following color additives – Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Green No. 3, Red No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6. Along with being the first state to prohibit certain food additives from foods, California was also the first state to prohibit food with specific color additives from being available in schools. This Virginia law, along with the school specific provision in the West Virginia law, is similar in language to the California School Food Safety Act. The Virginia law will go into effect on July 1, 2027. To learn more about the California law, click here to read NALC article “State Food Laws Enacted in 2024.”
Alternative Proteins
Another food law topic that has gotten a lot of attention in state legislatures over the past few years is alternative proteins. The term alternative proteins encompasses both cell-cultured meats and meat substitutes, such as plant or insect-based proteins. State legislation related to these products first started with the establishment of labeling requirements and has now evolved to include prohibitions on the sale or expenditure of state money on cell-cultured meat.
South Dakota
South Dakota was one of the 17 states prior to the 2025 legislative session that had an alternative protein labeling law in place. However, South Dakota’s law did not previously cover cell-cultured meat, but instead clarified that a food product is misbranded it misrepresents the product as meat when it is not derived from a “portion of the carcass of any cattle, bison, sheep, swine, goats, equine, ratites, captive cervidae, and other species as requested by the owner and authorized by the secretary.” S.D. Codified Laws § 39-5-6(16). HB1022 extends South Dakota’s alternative protein labeling laws by categorizing any food product as misbranded if it contains cell-cultured protein but does not clearly state so in a prominent and conspicuous manner. Additionally, South Dakota enacted HB1118 which prohibits state money from funding “research, production, promotion, or the sale or distribution of cell-cultured meat.” However, this provision carves out an exception for the Board of Regents or any institute under the control of the Board of Regents. Neither HB1022 or HB1118 includes an effective date, so in accordance with S.D. Codified Laws § 2-14-16, both will be effective on July 1, 2025.
Utah
Utah enacted HB138 and became the eighteenth state to create labeling rules for alternative proteins. Specifically, Utah’s law covers both cell-cultured meat and plant or insect-based meat substitutes and requires that labeling for both bear a term or phrase that is “reasonably certain to notify a consumer” that the food contains either a cultivated meat product or a plant or insect based meat substitute. Additionally, Utah’s law requires a food establishment that plans to sell cell-cultured meat or a plant or insect-based meat substitute should notify the Department of Agriculture of its intention, permit the Department to inspect, and pay a fee. This Utah law will take effect on May 7, 2025.
Mississippi
With the enactment of HB1006, Mississippi follows Florida and Alabama to become the third state to ban the sale or manufacturing of cell-cultured meat within its state. Florida was the first state to do this in 2024 with Alabama following shortly after. The Mississippi law will take effect on July 1, 2025. To learn more about the Florida and Alabama laws, click here to view NALC article “Cell-Cultured Meat Updates: state bans, labeling requirements, and regulatory clarifications.”
SNAP Benefits
Another legislative trend related to food law revolves around the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Benefits. SNAP is a federal nutrition program that provides low-income families with monthly benefits to purchase household foods. SNAP is run through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service but is administered on the local level by the states. This means that both FNS and the states have a role in the operation of the program. Specifically, part of FNS’ role is to determine what foods may be purchased with SNAP benefits. Despite this, several states have sought to pass legislation limiting the types of food that can be purchased with SNAP benefits. Idaho has passed HB109 which directs the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to require a waiver from the USDA to exclude candy and soda from being foods eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits. This law will be effective on July 1, 2025. To learn more about this issue, click here to read NALC article “Excluding ‘Junk’ Food from SNAP Benefits.”
Conclusion
Several pieces of legislation relating to food law have been passed by various state legislatures. This legislation has included topics like raw milk, cottage food, food additives, meat alternatives, and SNAP benefits. To stay up to date on the passage of various food law bills, click here to subscribe to NALC’s bi-weekly newsletter, “The Feed.”