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October 29, 2007

Dairies told to change inaccurate labels

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has notified certain dairies their labels are false or misleading and must be changed.

State Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff said that of the 140 dairy companies that sell milk in Pennsylvania and whose labels have been reviewed, 16 use labels considered inaccurate or misleading because they contain claims that cannot be verified.

The 16 permit holders whose products are mislabeled are in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts, and they have until Jan. 1 to correct the labels.

None of those dairies is in or around Lawrence County.

The nearest dairy on the list of false or misleading labels is Schneider's Dairy Inc. of Pittsburgh, which touts its milk as “Free of Antibiotics and the Growth Hormone rBST,” according to a news release issued last week.

Some of the dairies imply their product is safer than others through absence labeling, telling consumers what is not present in the milk as opposed to what is, Wolff said.

Claims such as “antibiotic-free” and “pesticide-free” are misleading, because all processed milk sold in Pennsylvania is tested a minimum of 10 times to guarantee it is free of such substances, which are illegal for milk to contain, he said.

Consumers rely on product labels to decide what to buy and feed their families, Wolff said. The department must approve labels for milk sold in Pennsylvania and there has been more and more marketing that makes it hard for consumers to make informed decisions, he said.

Label claims that are inaccurate or that cannot be verified are also being seen in the marketplace. For example, some milk labels contain statements such as hormone-free, yet all milk contains hormones.

Some labels also claim the absence of synthetic hormones, but there is no scientific test that can determine the truth of this claim, Wolff pointed out.

In addition, some mislabeled products cost more than those labeled correctly, he said, noting that has become a degrading factor for low-income families who want to buy safe food for their children but cannot afford more expensive milk that is misleadingly or inaccurately marketed as a safer product.

The department of agriculture convened a food labeling advisory committee made up of dietitians, consumer advocates and food industry representatives earlier this month to discuss potentially misleading labels. The committee urged Wolff to explore the department’s authority in the labeling oversight.

The department has authority over food labeling through the Pennsylvania Food Act and the milk sanitation law.

Specific to milk and dairy products sold in the state, the department has the authority to disapprove any label deemed false or misleading.

Consumers are concerned or confused about product labeling, Wolff said, and that is a subject on which the department continues to receive many calls.

More information on the department’s food labeling actions is available by visiting its Web site at www.agriculture.state.pa.us and clicking on food labeling.

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