The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down an Ohio state ban last week that prohibited dairy not treated with bovine growth hormone from being labeled “rbGH free,” “rbST free” or “artificial hormone free.”
The ruling, the result of more than two years of litigation filed against Ohio’s director of agriculture by the Organic Trade Association, determined the ban on hormone-free claims violated dairy processors’ First Amendment rights and was “more extensive than necessary to serve the state’s interest in preventing consumer deception.”
Food-safety advocates are hopeful the case will bring attention to all food-labeling issues, in light of the current labeling controversy surrounding genetically engineered foods.