Wawa milk labeling in question; Pennsylvania opposes ‘absence labeling’

Wawa’s plan to label its milk free of artificial growth hormone might be on the way out – before it even got in. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture said such labeling is not permitted. State authorities did not mention Wawa by name, and a spokeswoman for Wawa told NPN MarketPulse that the chain “will be looking into it further.”

Wawa, which operates 570 convenience stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, and is based in Wawa, Pa., said in an Oct. 15 announcement that it would purchase raw milk only from farmers who pledge, and sign legal affidavits, that they would not use artificial growth hormones in their cows. Customers would be able to see a “Farmers Pledge” through a seal on the label of all Wawa dairy products, the company said.

But nine days after that announcement the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture had an announcement of its own: It said it had notified some dairies that sell milk in the state that their labels are false or misleading and need to be changed, said Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff.

Of the 140 dairy companies whose labels had been reviewed by Oct. 24, Wolff said, 16 use labels that are considered inaccurate or misleading because they contain claims that cannot be verified or implying that 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 that it is free of such substances, which are illegal for milk to contain.

"Consumers rely upon the labeling of a product to make decisions about what they buy and what to feed their families," said Wolff. "The department must approve the labels for milk sold in Pennsylvania and we’re seeing more and more marketing that is making it hard for consumers to make informed decisions."

Label claims that are inaccurate or that cannot be verified are also being seen in the marketplace, according to the department. For example, some milk labels contain statements such as "hormone-free," but 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, according to the department.

In addition, Wolff said, some of the mislabeled products cost more than those labeled correctly. This 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, he said.

"The milk is available now in all of our stores, and we did not increase the price," Wawa’s public relations manager, Lori Bruce, wrote in an Oct. 30 e-mail message to NPN MarketPulse. "Early on, we have had positive reaction from some of our customers who appreciate knowing that we only receive milk from farmers who pledge not to use artificial hormones. We receive affidavits from the farms and only process milk from suppliers who pledge not to use rBST, and we stringently follow the guidelines put forth by the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] when screening the milk."

Recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST), or bovine growth hormone, is a protein that stimulates milk production in dairy cows. The gene-spliced and natural versions are identical, according to a recent op-ed piece in The New York Times by Henry I. Miller, a doctor and fellow at the Hoover Institution, who headed the FDA’s Office of Biotechnology from 1989 to 1993.

Asked how Wawa would communicate to consumers that its milk is from suppliers who pledge not to use rBST if labeling to that effect is not allowed, Bruce wrote in a second email on Oct. 31, "We will be looking into it further."

In October the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture convened a Food Labeling Advisory Committee made up of dietitians, consumer advocates and food industry representatives to discuss potentially misleading labels. The committee urged Wolff to explore the department’s authority in 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," said Wolff. "It’s a subject the department continues to receive many calls about."

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