OTA Appeals Dairy Label Ruling

GREENFIELD, Mass.—The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is appealing an Ohio Federal District Court ruling that dairy product labels do not have to include a disclaimer for products produced from cows not treated with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH).

“OTA believes consumers have a right to know how their food was produced, and organic farmers and manufacturers should be allowed to tell them,” said Christine Bushway, executive director of OTA, the leading voice for the $24.6 billion organic industry in North America.

On March 30, 2009, a Federal District Court in Ohio upheld an emergency rule enacted by the Ohio Department of Agriculture that would have required labels to include a disclaimer for dairy products produced from cows not treated with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH). Subsequently, OTA filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit concerning the order and opinion denying OTA’s motion for a preliminary injunction that would have stopped Ohio’s emergency rule. After receiving OTA’s notice of appeal, the court postponed enforcement of the emergency rule until resolution of the appeal.

In order to qualify for the organic label, organic farmers are prohibited from using rBGH, genetically engineered organisms (GMOS), antibiotics and toxic, persistent, synthetic pesticides. The standards also mandate a rigorous system for inspection, certification and verification of organic practices.