| Thursday, 28 February 2008 |
| Got Hormones? |  |  |
| The Associated Press | |
| Utah officials want to control the labels on milk cartons and other dairy products. Milk processors would be able to promote their product as being free of artificial hormones. But only if they also say there's no significant difference when compared to milk from cows that are treated with growth hormones. THE PROPOSAL RANinto some opposition during a public hearing Tuesday.The Utah Food Industry Association said the federal government should regulate labels, not states. The Dairy Foods Association, based in Washington, D.C., said there's no public outcry for label restrictions. But Utah's agriculture commissioner, Leonard Blackham, said a rule is necessary to prevent consumers from being confused. He recalled seeing dairy products in Utah stores declaring, "No hormones!" "All food from a living organism has hormones," Blackham said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says companies are allowed to claim their milk comes from cows that were not treated with rBGH, as long as the labels do not "mislead consumers" to believe the milk is safer or better. "You're headed in the right direction," Brian Lowry of the Monsanto Co., maker of the hormone, said at the Utah hearing. Ogden dairy farmer Kerry Gibson, who also is a state lawmaker, said labels that say there are no artificial hormones elicit "an emotional response in consumers who don't have time to research the issue." Under Utah's proposed rule, the state can penalize violators up to $5,500 and could recall mislabeled products. If the rule is adopted, there first will be a 30-day comment period. Pennsylvania banned hormone-free labeling in October, but later rescinded the ban. Ohio has held hearings on the issue, and the state's agriculture director is expected to issue a decision. A bill in the Indiana Legislature was recently pulled because it stirred too much controversy. Some opponents of stricter labeling, including Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., say it's a First Amendment issue. The company has labeled its ice cream as free of a synthetic hormone. |
