Taking it one victory at a time

Alex Avery
October 31, 2007

Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture struck a blow for truth in labeling and consumers last week by banning misleading hormone-, antibiotic-, and pesticide-free claims on milk and other dairy products. Starting next year, only meaningful claims supported by laboratory testing will be allowed on PA milk and dairy food labels. Bottom line: no more hormone-free, pesticide-free, or antibiotic-free claims. This will alleviate stress on Pennsylvania moms and Pennsylvania family budget’s because, as readers of this blog know, milk is milk. No matter what the label claims, no milk has antibiotics, pesticides, or extra hormones. Lets hope other states get their act together and announce similar consumer-oriented enforcement actions.

Apparently, the Pennsylvania DA has just figured out that some dairy product labels “go as far as to tout the absence of substances that cannot lawfully be present in the food to begin with.” After reviewing hundreds of labels from 140 companies, they identified labels from 16 “permit holders” that violate Pennsylvania’s long-standing laws against misleading consumers.

Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff said in a news release that “antibiotic-free” and “pesticide-free” are misleading because all processed milk sold in the state is tested a minimum of 10 times for such substances, which are not permitted in milk. The ban includes claims that cows are not treated with rbST because no test can distinguish between the natural hormone in milk and traces of the 99.5% identical biotech version.

We’re thrilled that, at least in Pennsylvania, the laws against misleading consumers will finally be enforced. We just wonder what has taken so long and why more states haven’t woken up to the massive con job being perpetrated on consumers.