Originally Posted by morning

actually, i currently live in florida, which doesn't really allow anything- but i am working on moving, so just getting some info before-hand!! thanks!!

It is true that what defines potentially hazardous food products is different for every state and in fact may be different from county to county within some states so you want to make sure you are following the letter of the law.

The Feds set the standards and each individual state usually branches off from those standards become more strict or less, depending on food safety rules and regulations. If for some reason you cannot locate the regs for you state let me know. This is perhaps a bit more info than needed but this is from the Dept. of Ag Food Code which all states follow.

If you are ever concerned about whether your products are potentially hazardous you can contact your local Dept of Ag, they often either have a food scientist on staff or access to one through a local college or university who can (for a fee) test your products.

Something else you may want to just keep on the back burner is food labeling and food product dating. You want to always tell your customers or those you purchase your cakes the shelf life of the cake. Here is a link that can provide a bit of info and you can also contact the agency that licensed your kitchen if you're a home-based baker for specific information.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/food_product_dating/index.asp

These bits of info support 'best practices' in the food processing industry. It really matters not if you are home-based, working from a kitchen incubator or a brick and mortar, you always want to think "food safety" first, since there really is nothing worse that causing food-borne illness from food products that are not properly handled or stored.

Definition of Potentially Hazardous Food from the Food & Drug Administration: (this is a good link to bookmark)
http://www.fda.gov/Food/ScienceResearch/ResearchAreas/SafePracticesforFoodProcesses/ucm094141.htm