New guidelines allow dairies to label milk free from synthetic hormones

Jan 21 2008

Officials from the Pennsylvania Agriculture Department have been forced to relent over banning farmers from revealing whether or not milk comes from hormone-enhanced cows.

The decision to drop the ban follows complaints from milk marketers who say consumers should be able to make a choice as to what kind of milk they buy.

Notice of the ban was issued in October by the state's agriculture secretary, Dennis Wolff and was intended to go into effect on February 1st.

On Thursday the state's agriculture department issued new guidelines that allows dairies to label milk so that customers know if it was produced from cows injected with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) also known as recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST).

The back down means that while a label will not be allowed to state "No BST," it can state "from cows not treated with rBST."

The Consumers Union an organization which has opposed rBST for years says this is represents a big victory as consumers increasingly want to know more about how their food is produced and, particularly, whether it is produced in a natural and sustainable manner.

The Consumers Union says there is no justification for prohibiting information about rBGH use on a milk label.

The synthetic hormone mimics a natural one found in cows and is designed to boost their milk output by a gallon or more daily.

Consumers in recent years have increasingly become more organic aware, demanding brands of milk from dairies without artificial hormones.

Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ruled that the synthetic hormone is safe, not all experts agree and there is concern about its potential effects on humans; its use is prohibited in Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and all 25 countries in the European Union.

Many farmers in the U.S. have sworn never to use rBGH in their milk products, which in some cases means their products fetch higher prices.

The new rules will allow them to continue advertising their produce as free of artificial hormones, but insists they document their claims.

Dairies are barred from labeling milk as containing no growth hormones, because cows produce some naturally.

The Consumers Union was among a coalition of some 65 organizations that protested the proposed label ban and they are also fighting similar bans that are being considered by other states.