A: Generally meats are not allowed ie. pork chops, hamburgers, jerky, etc. However, the statute references potentially hazardous foods in the Minnesota Food code and there is an exception--commercially prepared shelf stable bacon is not potentially hazardous because the pH or water activity puts cooked bacon into a non potentially hazardous status. Adding cooked bacon from a commercial source (not homemade bacon) in a BBQ sauce would be allowed. The BBQ sauce must consist of less than 2% by weight of cooked bacon. The finished product must meet the non-potentially hazardous parameters of: a pH less than or equal to 4.6 or water activity less than or equal to 0.85.
