K A S H R U T . C O M_©

March 30, 2026 from Green Queen:

"Mississippi has banned the production and sale of cultivated dairy products, such as milk, cheese and more, becoming the first state in the country to do so.

"The law will come into effect on July 1, and businesses found violating it could have their licenses revoked or suspended, and be fined up to $500 a day, with a maximum penalty of $10,000.

"It comes a year after Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed a bill to prohibit the sale of cultivated meat, which is produced using a similar technology.

"The bill was introduced by Representative Bill Pigott, a beef and dairy farmer who has long been an opponent of alternative proteins.

"HB 1153 defined cultivated dairy products as those “intended to replicate or to substitute for milk” and “derived from animal cells cultured outside of a live animal”.

"It doesn’t include precision-fermented products, which do not use animal inputs in their products, instead relying on yeast to produce recombinant dairy proteins and fats. Several companies have already received approval and commercialised animal-free dairy products produced with this technology.

"Pigott’s proposal travelled through the legislative chambers without much opposition, which is why Governor Tate Reeves allowed the bill to pass without his signature.

"The attack on cultivated dairy seems a bit futile, given that no such product has reached market anywhere in the world so far. And very few companies seem to be working on this specific technology, such as Opalia, Wilk, Senara, and Brown Foods.