This may be a serious restriction of health freedom. The issue may well be that all milk has small amounts of hormones natually occurring. If so, it is important that milk producers be able to tell the truth about their products and to state that no added hormones have been intorduced into the cow's diets

FDA warns milk producers to remove "Hormone Free" claims (IFT 9-17)

On Sept. 16, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today issued Warning Letters to four manufacturers of whole milk, reduced fat milk and ice cream, informing them that their products are misbranded because the labels contain the false statements, "No Hormones" or "Hormone Free."

"FDA is committed to assuring that consumers are provided with truthful information on product labels," said FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan, MD., Ph.D.. "FDA will continue to take strong action to protect American consumers from products with labeling that is false or misleading." During recent inspections, FDA investigators collected labels of dairy products, including various milk and ice cream products. FDA reviewed the labels and determined that the statements "No Hormones" and "Hormone Free" are false claims, and therefore, the products are misbranded under section 403(a) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act). Under section 403(a) of the Act, a product is misbranded if any information presented on the label or labeling is false or misleading. The Warning Letters explain that "No Hormones" and "Hormone Free" are false claims because all milk contains naturally occurring hormones, and milk cannot be processed in a manner that renders it free of hormones. For more information, see the FDA Press Release.

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