- Mississippi has become the first state in the country to prohibit cell-cultured milk products with the enactment of House Bill 1153. The new law establishes a categorical ban on the manufacture, sale, and offer for sale of “cell‑cultured dairy products” within the state. It defines these products as those intended to replicate or substitute for milk that are derived from animal cells cultured outside of a live animal, including products produced through the in‑vitro growth of mammary or other animal cells.
- House Bill 1153 also expands upon Mississippi’s broader regulatory framework aimed at preventing what lawmakers view as misleading food labeling. In addition to the outright ban, the law reinforces existing prohibitions on misbranding food products as meat and expands enforcement authority for the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce. Unlike other regulatory approaches that rely on disclosure or naming conventions, Mississippi’s law removes an entire category of dairy‑analog products from the market altogether.
- Other states have taken different paths. Wisconsin House Bill 1024, for example, would have required products derived from animal cell culture and intended to replicate milk to be labeled as “lab‑grown milk,” but that proposal failed on March 23, 2026. The contrast highlights the range of approaches states are considering, from labeling requirements to full bans.
- Mississippi’s action is the latest development in a series of state measures addressing cell‑cultured and alternative animal‑product technologies. As we’ve previously blogged, legislatures in Florida, Texas, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, Alabama, and Mississippi have considered or enacted similar laws, generating legal challenges. Collectively, these developments reflect increasing state involvement in regulating and prohibiting emerging food technologies.
- Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor developments related to the regulation and prohibition of cell-cultured and alternative proteins.