Alaska is one of the very few states that allows home food sellers to make and sell refrigerated, potentially hazardous foods — cheesecake, burritos, casseroles, fresh salads, and more. This is a huge competitive advantage, but it comes with specific rules you need to follow.
TCS stands for Time/Temperature Control for Safety. A TCS food — also called a "potentially hazardous food" (PHF) — is any food that requires refrigeration, freezing, or careful timing to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria. If it can spoil or become unsafe at room temperature, it's a TCS food.
The Alaska DEC uses two scientific measurements to classify foods:
pH above 4.6 — Your product isn't acidic enough to naturally inhibit bacterial growth. Most cooked dishes, dairy products, and fresh produce fall into this range.
Water activity (aw) above 0.85 — Your product contains enough available moisture for bacteria to thrive. Fresh meats, dairy, cooked grains, and cut produce are all high water-activity foods.
If your product has either a pH above 4.6 or water activity above 0.85, it's classified as potentially hazardous and must follow the TCS selling rules. The DEC's classification resource can help you determine your product's status, and UAF Cooperative Extension agents offer free consultations.
The range of potentially hazardous foods allowed under Alaska's Homemade Food Rule is remarkably broad. Here are the major categories:
The key restriction for TCS foods is simple: you must sell them yourself, directly to the consumer. No third-party retailers, no agents, no grocery stores, no food hubs. This is the main difference between TCS and non-PHF foods under Alaska's Homemade Food Rule.
| Rule | TCS (Potentially Hazardous) | Non-PHF (Shelf-Stable) |
|---|---|---|
| Who can sell it? | Producer only — no agents or third parties | Producer or agent of the producer |
| Direct to consumer | Allowed | Allowed |
| Farmers markets & fairs | Allowed — producer must be present | Allowed |
| Online sales (within AK) | Allowed | Allowed |
| Third-party retail (grocery, food hub) | Not Allowed | Allowed |
| Wholesale / resale | Not Allowed | Not Allowed |
| Annual sales cap | No limit | No limit |
| Labeling required | Yes — full label or verbal notice | Yes — full label or verbal notice |
| Signage required at point of sale | Yes | Yes |
| Out-of-state sales | Not Allowed | Not Allowed |
If you sell TCS homemade food at a location that also sells inspected food (like a farmers market booth inside a permitted facility, or your own retail space that also carries inspected items), there are additional requirements:
You need physical separation between uninspected homemade food and inspected food during storage, display, and sale — this means separate coolers, freezers, shelves, and ideally a separate door and point of sale. Signs or markings must clearly identify where homemade food is located versus inspected food. All standard labeling and signage rules still apply.
Eggs have their own rules: While eggs are classified as potentially hazardous, they have separate selling requirements under Alaska's regulations. Visit the DEC's Selling Eggs resource page for specifics.
No. One of the most significant advantages of Alaska's Homemade Food Rule is that it does not require a commercial kitchen or any specific kitchen standards. You can produce TCS foods in your own home kitchen or a privately leased kitchen. There are no requirements regarding the kitchen itself — no inspection, no layout rules, no equipment mandates.
The DEC will not inspect your home kitchen as part of the homemade food exemption. However, at the request of a producer, the DEC can provide voluntary assistance, consultation, or inspection if you want feedback on your setup.
Leased kitchens count: You don't have to use your own kitchen. A privately leased commercial kitchen space also qualifies under the homemade food exemption. This can be a good option if you're scaling up or need specific equipment like walk-in refrigeration for larger TCS food production.
Alaska's Homemade Food Rule does not prescribe specific temperature control regulations for producers — unlike permitted food establishments which follow the Alaska Food Code's detailed requirements. However, food safety best practices are critical for TCS foods to protect your customers and your reputation.
When delivering TCS foods to customers — whether at a farmers market, through an online order, or at a special event — maintaining the cold chain is essential. Use insulated coolers, ice packs, or heated containers to keep foods in the safe temperature range during transport. For mail-order delivery within Alaska, follow the USDA's mail-order food safety guidelines.
All meat used in homemade food must come from a USDA-inspected source. This means you can buy beef, pork, lamb, or goat from a grocery store or licensed processor and use it in your prepared meals, but you cannot use home-slaughtered or uninspected meat. The same applies to poultry — it must be USDA-inspected, or produced under a USDA poultry inspection exemption and used according to that exemption's requirements.
Not allowed in TCS homemade food: Seafood, shellfish, game meat (moose, caribou, bear), reindeer, nonamenable species (bison, emu, rabbit), uninspected meat or poultry, rendered animal oils (lard, tallow, seal oil), raw/unpasteurized milk, or any controlled substances. See What You Can Sell for the full prohibited list.
Alaska does not require a food handler certification for homemade food producers. However, when producing TCS foods, understanding temperature control, cross-contamination prevention, and safe handling practices is especially important. The UAF Cooperative Extension Service offers food entrepreneurship classes, and online ANAB-accredited food handler courses are available for $7–$15 from multiple providers. Even if the state doesn't require it, the knowledge is well worth the investment when you're working with perishable foods.
Find out if your prepared meal or food product is classified as TCS in Alaska and what selling rules apply.
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