In October of last year, the State of Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture ruled arbitrarily that food labels could not promote the product for what it DID NOT CONTAIN.  Besides the artificial hormone rBST in milk, the ban also included antibiotics.  The ban, which was to go into effect February 1, would have included labels such as "ANTI-BIOTIC FREE" or  "Tyson's "Chicken Raised Without Antibiotics that impact antibiotic resistance in humans."

It seems that the public wants to know what is in its food, as well as what is NOT.  The public outcry was so strong that the state reversed its ruling.

The USDA reports that demand for "all-natural" and "Certified Organic" food products has tripled in the last 5 years.  As public awareness increases about health threats, such as antibiotic resistant bacteria, look for more and more processers to move to the "antibiotic-free", "all-natural" and certified organic" markets.

-z